"Scuse me, scuse me," he hollered, squatting back on his Croc-shod feet. Trying to keep an eye on McKenzie climbing her way up to the slide, I glanced over at the little bushy, blonde-haired fellow hailing my attention.
"Make her stop looking at me," he wined. "She's looking at me and I don't like it. Make her stop."
I looked up. McKenzie was sitting on the steps to the slide looking down at him. He was several feet away and a few playground levels down.
I ignored him at first, shocked that a four year old could be so...snooty. His perfectly ironed, white-blouse-black-pants mother sat obliviously shaded behind her stylish dark glasses on the far side of the play area. She clearly wasn't going to be of much assistance.
"She's still looking at me. Tell her to stop," he howled, walking toward me on the climbing equipment.
"You know what, Sweetie," I said slowly and firmly, surprised at my own calmness. "She is not hurting you. You don't need to worry about her. Go play."
He huffed off.
Good riddance.
Suddenly he boomeranged back. Launching another imperative question in my face.
"What's your name?"
My hair bristled. Apparently, this four year old ruled his little world and seemed to think he ruled mine too.
"Mrs. Perrault." I said. Placing strong emphasis on the period at the end.
No argument was available. No room left for questions. Off he scampered to his well-kept mother, no longer king of the playground.
Never in my life have I introduced myself as "Mrs. Perrault," not even when Josh and I taught the first grade Sunday School class when I was pregnant with McKenzie. Usually I am Stephanie or Miss Stephanie. I'm only twenty-five for pity-sake.
But under duress from a four year old, I morphed into Mrs. Perrault. It sounded so grown up. So final. So no-nonsense. And perfectly apropos for a cocky kid trying to throw his weight around at the playground.
It's amazing what motherhood does to you. I never dreamed I'd be ready to wage war on the playground with a domineering kid. Yesterday's incident revealed that I definitely have what it takes. Scary! Hopefully name dropping won't be necessary in my next playground skirmish.
Looking back on the event yesterday, I can laugh, although I'm rather ashamed a four year old so easily raised my ire. In a day or two, I will have completely forgotten it. Another little vignette occurred yesterday evening that I hopefully never will.
After dinner, McKenzie and I were listening to Josh's game on the radio. The team is on the road in Erie, PA and since it's only a three day trip, McKenzie and I stayed here to hold down the fort. I had a feeling Josh was going to pitch last night and was feeling rather nauseous all evening. The Papa John's pizza our host family ordered for dinner didn't help a lot.
It was about 8:30 pm and McKenzie was running around like a banshee throwing her endless supply of baseballs all over the place, running around in circles with her baby stroller, and tripping over my legs every two minutes as I sat on the floor, sick to my stomach, listening to the game. When Josh came on in the 7th inning, I grabbed McK in mid flight and started to pray.
When we are by ourselves, I like to pray out loud so that McKenzie learns the value of bringing all things before the throne of God. I do it sometimes at the games too, whispering my prayers in her ear. I'm sure people think I'm nuts, but that's a different story.
"Lord, please be with daddy as he pitches," I prayed. "Bless him with excellent pitch location, first pitch strikes, good defense. Help him to drive the ball towards the plate and be able to locate his fast ball, his slider and his change-up."
As I ran through my laundry list of pitching prayers, I heard McKenzie's little voice. I looked up and she was standing next to me with her head down, eyes closed saying all the words in her limited vocabulary.
"Daddy...mama...baby...fruff...two...kitty...side...cheese...daddy...ball...daddy."
I smiled and finished my prayer while she entreated the Lord in her own little language.
"Thank you for hearing our prayers, Lord. Amen," I said.
"Aaaa-men," she echoed, lifting her head and breathing out a sigh of relief. A smile radiated across her face.
"Were you talking to Jesus for Daddy?" I asked. She laughed and gave me a big hug.
"Yeah, Daddy," she yelled and ran off to chase her ball.
It was precious beyond words. The Lord heard the prayers of His little one last night, blessing Josh with a wonderful outing. He truly does understand all languages, even the senseless ones of a baby.
In a week, yesterday will be a blur. The bossy little boy on the playground will be a chuckle. I will have forgotten the game and how many pitches Josh threw for strikes and how many guys he struck out. But I will never forget the miracle of my darling child praying in the words she knew for her daddy. And that complete sigh of relief after she was done, as if to say,
"It's all o.k. now. I talked to Jesus."
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Slide
"Cmon," she said, yanking on my fingers as she dragged me towards the slide.
It was a tall slide, but she could climb up the steps by herself quite easily. It was when she got to the platform on top that she got skiddish. Laying there chattering to me on her tummy, she would refuse to go down even though I was waiting for her at the bottom. So back down she came with the intent of having me climb up behind her and go down with her.
"Pees, Mama," she pleaded. There was no denying that precious entreaty, so up we went.
Weeee....she giggled delightedly as we swooshed down the chute.
"Mor, mor," she begged. "Cmon."
So we went up. And down. Again, and again, and again.
Then Mama got tired and decided it was time to go home for a snack.
"Side, side," she wailed as I buckled her in her carseat.
"Don't worry, we'll come back this afternoon," I promised. And we did. And we came back the next morning, and the next night, and the next morning, and the...you get the idea.
While Josh has been on the road the last six days in New Hampshire and Maine, McKenzie and I have been enjoying the free entertainment offered by Pennsylvania taxpayers- the slide. Growing up on a farm, I never went to the park a ton, but I am making up for that now. McKenzie and I have been to the park twice a day almost every day this week. And it's been a huge blessing! She loves it, and it wears her out. And I love that.
Josh will be home early Monday morning and we are counting down the hours 'til Daddy gets home. We'll have Monday "off" and then will head to NJ for three days.
We are down to the final stretch of the season. May the Lord enable us to finish strong.
It was a tall slide, but she could climb up the steps by herself quite easily. It was when she got to the platform on top that she got skiddish. Laying there chattering to me on her tummy, she would refuse to go down even though I was waiting for her at the bottom. So back down she came with the intent of having me climb up behind her and go down with her.
"Pees, Mama," she pleaded. There was no denying that precious entreaty, so up we went.
Weeee....she giggled delightedly as we swooshed down the chute.
"Mor, mor," she begged. "Cmon."
So we went up. And down. Again, and again, and again.
Then Mama got tired and decided it was time to go home for a snack.
"Side, side," she wailed as I buckled her in her carseat.
"Don't worry, we'll come back this afternoon," I promised. And we did. And we came back the next morning, and the next night, and the next morning, and the...you get the idea.
While Josh has been on the road the last six days in New Hampshire and Maine, McKenzie and I have been enjoying the free entertainment offered by Pennsylvania taxpayers- the slide. Growing up on a farm, I never went to the park a ton, but I am making up for that now. McKenzie and I have been to the park twice a day almost every day this week. And it's been a huge blessing! She loves it, and it wears her out. And I love that.
Josh will be home early Monday morning and we are counting down the hours 'til Daddy gets home. We'll have Monday "off" and then will head to NJ for three days.
We are down to the final stretch of the season. May the Lord enable us to finish strong.
Monday, August 11, 2008
I will let my words be few
This week was a humbling one for me. It began in Erie, PA, where we were finishing the last three days of a six day road trip: three in Akron, three in Erie. Josh's first time back on the mound since Columbus came in Akron, and the Lord blessed him with 1.2 innings of great success, in which he logged his first save of the season. That was last Sunday. By 8 pm that evening we were in Erie.
I had heard dreadful tales of the filthy hotel, etc., etc., in Erie, so my expectations were not high. Much to my surprise, it was not as horrible as I had anticipated. The city was a bit dirty, but we were right downtown, so maybe that accounts for it. Josh did not pitch Monday or Tuesday. Our last game there was Wednesday at noon. Josh came on in the 5th inning. His first two innings were fantastic.
After one out in his third inning on the mound (7th) he gave up a solo home run. He struck the next guy out (his 4th of the day) and then walked a guy. So there were 2 out, 1 on. He had two strikes on the next batter. The next pitch the batter swung at and missed...strike out...but the catcher dropped the ball, which negates the strikeout. The guy ran to 1st. The catcher stood up and threw to the 1st baseman, who caught the ball just in time...and then dropped it. During all this commotion, the runner who was originally on 1st made his way rapidly home, scoring a run. While it should have been an unearned run, the scorekeeper recorded it as earned, which of course affects the pitcher's ERA. Apparently, Josh's coach called the scorekeeper after the game to challenge the call, but they did not reverse it.
That was Wednesday. We drove back to Harrisburg that afternoon. Since we had just been transferred from Columbus, the team paid for two nights in a hotel, which we took advantage of. After that, we moved back in with our host family, who graciously allowed us to come back. Josh did not pitch again until Saturday night. He pitched over two innings that night as well. He also gave up a few runs.
July was such a good month for Josh, pitching wise, I struggled wondering why things had to change now. I am ashamed to say that my gut level emotions were to question the Lord's plan in all this and to be a bit frustrated in His allowing more runs to score, when what Josh seemed to need to me was a scoreless month, for which I had been praying endlessly and fervently.
But then Sunday came. Unfortunately, I was not organized enough to make it to church, so while I was burning off my frustration on the treadmill in the basement that morning, I listened to another of our AZ pastor's messages on Ecclesiastes. Chapter 5, verse 2 was his focal point:
The substance of his message was that what we think we need or want is not always what is best for us and what seems bad to us often turns out to be a huge blessing in the end. Translated to my life, that means that even though what occurred during the last two games and even throughout the season seems less than ideal to my finite, stat-watching mind, it is apparently part of God's perfect plan for my husband's career and our lives.
God is in heaven and has perfect perspective. I am here on earth, confined by time, finite knowledge, and my sinful human nature. Who am I to question the Lord and Maker of the Universe? Who am I to hastily bring a matter before God without taking into account His sovereignty, love, and goodness? Therefore, I was convicted and humbled, and from now on will let my words be few.
But how gracious and merciful is my Lord and Savior, who forgives my rash thoughts and frustrated prayers and who gives me a new focus for these last three weeks of the season, which are so easily just survived instead of seized. In my devotional today, which is written by other major and minor league wives, I was admonished to take advantage of every opportunity to spend time with other wives and girlfriends, fans, and other people the Lord brings in my path, for there is no assurance that I will ever see them again. This truly convicted me and will be my goal for the remaining three weeks of the 2008 season. And while I continue to pray for my husband and his success in his labors, I know that we are here for a greater purpose, and that is to share the love and joy of Christ to all we encounter.
I had heard dreadful tales of the filthy hotel, etc., etc., in Erie, so my expectations were not high. Much to my surprise, it was not as horrible as I had anticipated. The city was a bit dirty, but we were right downtown, so maybe that accounts for it. Josh did not pitch Monday or Tuesday. Our last game there was Wednesday at noon. Josh came on in the 5th inning. His first two innings were fantastic.
After one out in his third inning on the mound (7th) he gave up a solo home run. He struck the next guy out (his 4th of the day) and then walked a guy. So there were 2 out, 1 on. He had two strikes on the next batter. The next pitch the batter swung at and missed...strike out...but the catcher dropped the ball, which negates the strikeout. The guy ran to 1st. The catcher stood up and threw to the 1st baseman, who caught the ball just in time...and then dropped it. During all this commotion, the runner who was originally on 1st made his way rapidly home, scoring a run. While it should have been an unearned run, the scorekeeper recorded it as earned, which of course affects the pitcher's ERA. Apparently, Josh's coach called the scorekeeper after the game to challenge the call, but they did not reverse it.
That was Wednesday. We drove back to Harrisburg that afternoon. Since we had just been transferred from Columbus, the team paid for two nights in a hotel, which we took advantage of. After that, we moved back in with our host family, who graciously allowed us to come back. Josh did not pitch again until Saturday night. He pitched over two innings that night as well. He also gave up a few runs.
July was such a good month for Josh, pitching wise, I struggled wondering why things had to change now. I am ashamed to say that my gut level emotions were to question the Lord's plan in all this and to be a bit frustrated in His allowing more runs to score, when what Josh seemed to need to me was a scoreless month, for which I had been praying endlessly and fervently.
But then Sunday came. Unfortunately, I was not organized enough to make it to church, so while I was burning off my frustration on the treadmill in the basement that morning, I listened to another of our AZ pastor's messages on Ecclesiastes. Chapter 5, verse 2 was his focal point:
Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
The substance of his message was that what we think we need or want is not always what is best for us and what seems bad to us often turns out to be a huge blessing in the end. Translated to my life, that means that even though what occurred during the last two games and even throughout the season seems less than ideal to my finite, stat-watching mind, it is apparently part of God's perfect plan for my husband's career and our lives.
God is in heaven and has perfect perspective. I am here on earth, confined by time, finite knowledge, and my sinful human nature. Who am I to question the Lord and Maker of the Universe? Who am I to hastily bring a matter before God without taking into account His sovereignty, love, and goodness? Therefore, I was convicted and humbled, and from now on will let my words be few.
But how gracious and merciful is my Lord and Savior, who forgives my rash thoughts and frustrated prayers and who gives me a new focus for these last three weeks of the season, which are so easily just survived instead of seized. In my devotional today, which is written by other major and minor league wives, I was admonished to take advantage of every opportunity to spend time with other wives and girlfriends, fans, and other people the Lord brings in my path, for there is no assurance that I will ever see them again. This truly convicted me and will be my goal for the remaining three weeks of the 2008 season. And while I continue to pray for my husband and his success in his labors, I know that we are here for a greater purpose, and that is to share the love and joy of Christ to all we encounter.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
All Guts. No Glory.
Last week was filled with the excitment of Josh's Columbus debut, the busyness of making a huge circle through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Virginia, and the blessing of spending time with dear friends and meeting new ones. As I wrote last Tuesday, Josh was promoted to AAA.
He had a great week there, pitching 4.1 innings, striking out 5, and giving up 1 run. After a great outing Thursday night, the AAA coach told him that he had done a great job for Columbus, but that he was going back to AA and that he would be meeting the team on the road in Akron, OH. Earlier that day, McKenzie and I had driven down to Richmond to spend the day with him. We had returned to Gainesville, VA that evening where we were staying with our wonderful host family from last summer.
Josh called me around 10:30 that night. After accepting my congratulations for his great outing, he told me that I needed to come get him in Richmond the next morning, and that we would be driving to Akron, OH that afternoon. I got to bed as soon as I threw two loads of laundry in and took a shower, knowing that I would have to get up early the next morning so that I would be able to pack and make the 1.75 hour drive to Richmond before 9 am. I think it was almost midnight when I fell into bed.
My alarm went off at 5:45, but I couldn't drag myself out until 6. Five minutes later, I was rushing around folding laundry, repacking the car, gulping coffee, and trying to look somewhat presentable although all I really wanted to do was curl up and go back to sleep. Miraculously, we only left 30 minutes later than I intended and pulled up to the Quality Inn in Richmond at 9:30. Josh was waiting in the lobby. After cramming his bags into the already overstuffed 4-Runner, we were back on I-95, heading north towards Akron and AA.
We are so thankful to be here safely and together again as a family and we are praising the Lord for Josh's successful week in AAA. Although it was brief, we are confident God had a purpose in it and are excited to see what He has for us the rest of the season. Thank you all so very, very much for your prayers. The Lord truly protects, guides, and shepherds us through the craziness of this life. Without Him, and all of your support and prayers, we couldn't do it.
I have lots of fun pictures from the last few weeks, but the computer here at the hotel is slow, so I will upload them as soon as I can.
Love to all!
Steph, Josh, McK
He had a great week there, pitching 4.1 innings, striking out 5, and giving up 1 run. After a great outing Thursday night, the AAA coach told him that he had done a great job for Columbus, but that he was going back to AA and that he would be meeting the team on the road in Akron, OH. Earlier that day, McKenzie and I had driven down to Richmond to spend the day with him. We had returned to Gainesville, VA that evening where we were staying with our wonderful host family from last summer.
Josh called me around 10:30 that night. After accepting my congratulations for his great outing, he told me that I needed to come get him in Richmond the next morning, and that we would be driving to Akron, OH that afternoon. I got to bed as soon as I threw two loads of laundry in and took a shower, knowing that I would have to get up early the next morning so that I would be able to pack and make the 1.75 hour drive to Richmond before 9 am. I think it was almost midnight when I fell into bed.
My alarm went off at 5:45, but I couldn't drag myself out until 6. Five minutes later, I was rushing around folding laundry, repacking the car, gulping coffee, and trying to look somewhat presentable although all I really wanted to do was curl up and go back to sleep. Miraculously, we only left 30 minutes later than I intended and pulled up to the Quality Inn in Richmond at 9:30. Josh was waiting in the lobby. After cramming his bags into the already overstuffed 4-Runner, we were back on I-95, heading north towards Akron and AA.
We are so thankful to be here safely and together again as a family and we are praising the Lord for Josh's successful week in AAA. Although it was brief, we are confident God had a purpose in it and are excited to see what He has for us the rest of the season. Thank you all so very, very much for your prayers. The Lord truly protects, guides, and shepherds us through the craziness of this life. Without Him, and all of your support and prayers, we couldn't do it.
I have lots of fun pictures from the last few weeks, but the computer here at the hotel is slow, so I will upload them as soon as I can.
Love to all!
Steph, Josh, McK
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