Warmer and longer days always remind me of softball and watching baseball at Westside. I started playing softball when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. The first uniform I remember wearing was black with pink lettering.  I am not so sure black was such a great idea for playing softball in the summer in Alabama. I remember that first year I did not make the All Star team and being disappointed. I knew at that point, I wanted to be the best I could be.  I also decided I wanted to pitch. My parents have always been supportive of what I wanted to do so they helped me learn how to pitch, sling shot.

The next summer I pitched and my now best friend MC hit a line drive straight into my leg and left seam marks. She was a hell of an athlete and was naturally good at any sport she played.  I remember learning how to slide on a slip and slide with water and dawn dish washing detergent. I earned several strawberries in my softball career from sliding. I remember going to the pool and my knees getting wet and I’d pick off the skin from strawberries.  Winning a game meant you got to ride in the back of your coach’s pick up truck (because every coach had a pick up; we are in the South) and singing really loud at the top of our lungs, “We will, we will, rock you! Pick you up and drop you!” Riding in the pick up truck doesn’t seem so safe now. The trip concluded with dinner at McDonald’s. The thought of sweating and eating McDonald’s now grosses me out, lol.

I was number “10” for several seasons because I thought Chipper Jones from the Atlanta Braves was cute. How old is he now?  I also liked watching movies about baseball such as my favorite Sandlot. I still like to use lines from the movie when talking to my son- “You are killing me smalls!”  I also think of the DA Pool when the scene comes on when they are at the public pool.  Speaking of pools-no swimming on game day was a rule I can remember our coaches telling us. I wonder how many of us actually abided.

I continued to play summer ball up until I was 13. I was more interested in the opposite sex at this point and started playing tennis. I’d like to think I retired at my prime-shortstop and clean up. I was also a decent windmill pitcher at this point. The last summer I played I had braces and got hit in the mouth two days in a row by pop ups- my lips were extremely swollen. Battle scars. I’ve had a cracked nose, busted lips, a black eye, etc.  from playing softball. My tolerance for pain sure has changed.

Trips to watch the boys of summer were fun, especially at the ball fields at Westside. They had the best French fries-salty and slathered with ketchup. I also enjoyed a large pixie stick and a soft drink in a plastic cup with “Pepsi” written on it. There’s also something about the smell of freshly cut grass. We would walk around those fields several hundred times just for a chance to catch a glimpse at one of our crushes. We would sometimes sit in swings at the elementary school and watch practice. I broke a swing checking out the guys practicing and was so completely mortified that I cried. When this happened, I thought, my life as I knew it at 12 years old was over.

When I picture the Westside ball fields in my mind, I see a group of girls who loved a game, loved their teammates, and were serious about their sport (or as serious as a 9 year old can be).  I also see friends sharing secrets and French fries while stealing glances at boys who occasionally may have looked back- making these girls flush and giggle- you could live on a glance from a boy for a month at least!

Those days will be FOR-EV-ER (to be read as Squints would have said) etched in my mind. To my past teammates and former childhood baseball players, I hope this season of your life finds you well. Thanks for making my childhood pretty cool.

Officially, my last game of my summer softball career. This was a game we lost at state in All Stars.