This past Friday, I took the kids over to the park so that Big Girl could practice throwing a softball around with her friends. She has decided to join the team but has never played a game before or even watched softball or baseball on television.
She can throw,she can run, she can hit, she can catch (well sort of) but she has never needed to do it all at once. So on this Friday, a game ensued. Lots of squealing 7-9 year olds trying to organize a game that more than half have never even played!
Big Girl gets told to play first base. She goes, stands there, mitt ready to catch a ball. Batter up, batter hits, batter runs to first base, stops and stands there foot on the base.
(This is the part where I come in because frankly I did not see any of the above really happen as I was at the play structure with the Little Girl.)
Big Girl comes running out of nowhere, crying, arms flailing. She is hysterical screaming “Jim Bob” is on first base and taking over. He is trying to tell me what to do, he does not even have a mitt. He won’t get off my base and I am not playing any more. Throws the mitt down, crying, pure 7 year old girl drama, right there in the middle of the park.
I calmly walk her down to the game and it does not take long to figure out that “Jim Bob” was on the other team as the base runner. He was not taking over, he was not trying to tell her what to do, he wasn’t not leaving the base because he wanted to take over but because HE WAS ON BASE! He needed to wait of the next batter to hit a ball so he could run.
What a surprise that Big Girl did not get this! She has never played a softball game or been told the rules. What was she to think that “Jim Bob” as doing other than taking over!
mommy you say it... 