March 18

As this day draws to a close, my mind is overflowing with tufts of thought. But given that tufts are by nature disjointed and airy and mostly nonsensical, they're hard to express. So perhaps keeping it simple is the right way to go.

The boys had a total of three games today: two in the morning at the high school for Isaac, and one in the afternoon for Brady. And by the time the dust settled, it wound up being something of A Tale of Two Brothers for my brositos.

Isaac had minimal playing time; he was a pinch runner in game one and then during game two he had a little time at second base and a few at-bats, although his second at-bat ended prematurely when he subluxated his shoulder (again) and told his coach he needed to exit the game. It wasn't an ideal situation, but I'm proud of him for handling what I'm sure was a great deal of disappointment with grace.

Brady, conversely, just missed clubbing a homerun during his first at-bat and wound up going 3 for 4. The game went on for a whopping 11 innings --when they usually play only six-- before the other team snapped the 1-1 tie by scoring what wound up being the winning runs. It was quite the marathon, but they all played well and had good attitudes and it felt good, despite the eventual loss.

So yeah: two boys, two programs, two vastly different experiences. But I'm so proud of both of them for handling their respective challenges and frustrations and successes with so much class and perseverance. They're good boys, those boys of mine, and win or lose, play or no play, I'm always proud to be their mom.