Reid's Second Spring

It is extremely rare in the part of the country where we live for a real springtime to break over the land. More often than not, we are tempted/taunted by a handful of spring-like days in early April before the full onset of gruesome, suffocating mugginess. It's really quite a treat.

But this spring, for whatever reason, we have seen an unusually long and beautifully temperate spring. We planted grass and went to baseball games with sweatshirts on. Ok, we went to one baseball game.



Reid now loves almost all forms of ball-based sport. He comprehends exactly none of the actual point of any of these things. His version of football is when he throws the ball to me and then I chase him until I hand the ball to K, who wants to give it to him but has to catch him first. He throws a miniature football through a Little Tykes basketball goal. He rarely if ever puts the basketball through the goal. (Though Reid shorthand for going out to play this miasma of ball-games is a pugnacious "Hoop! Hoop!" Throughout dinner, as we head to the bath, in a rainstorm, it doesn't matter. "Hoop!")

In ancticipation of what will be a long spring and summer of using the yard, K has attempted to grow grass. She goes outside and looks at it. One day, Reid wondered what all the fuss was about.



Washington offers a cornucopia of sport options these days. The NBA team won its first playoff game in 18 years the other day. The new baseball team has taken up residence in the stadium the last one abandoned 33 years ago. The Washington Nationals are fairly middle of the pack early in the season, but with time, and more versatile merchandising, they could blossom into a real powerhouse.

In a drizzling rain, the three of us set off to take in a Nationals game, free tickets in hand, Reid sound asleep in the stroller. Our plan was this: Night game, let Reid take a late afternoon nap as long as the sleep will bear and then blitz him with baseball until he grows intolerant. Then we split.

It worked like a charm. Reid fell asleep about two minutes after we left home. We parked the car in downtown DC and headed over for dinner, Reid zonked in the stroller. We dined, took a Metro train to the stadium and pushed Reid about a third of a mile to RFK. Still asleep. Entered the stadium and started the long ramp-riven march to the cheapest of the cheap seats. We roll to a stop in front of a badly understaffed and under-supplied hat and t-shirt stand. Reid wakes up in time to accept his first Nationals hat.

He was an amazing fan. He couldn't see what was going on. (None of us could, really.) But when the crowd erupted in applause, he was right there. He figured out that there were balls being thrown somewhere in the vicinity and shouted "ball" whenever the mood struck. In short, he saw his first baseball game.

Nats beat the Metropolitans of the borough of Queens, city of New York, in 8 and a half rain-shortened innings 5-3. We left after a rain delay in the sixth, when the Nats' victory seemed secure. And we've got tickets to see the Nationals play the Pittsburgh Pirates some time later this summer.


Reid, his dad, and the Washington Nationals.