Thursday, June 19, 2008

after one glass of wine

Have I ever mentioned that I am a HUGE baseball buff? Which is kind of funny because I don't follow the game much, except for in the post-season, and really only if my Red Sox are playing.


But I've always been swept up in the history and romance of the game.

My mom's beau Jim is from a long line of baseball players. His father, Jimmy Cooney, actually played for the Boston Red Sox alongside Babe Ruth before going on to play for the Chicago Cubs and later, the St. Louis Cardinals. Jim loves to tell the story of how his dad made an unassisted triple play in 1927 ... the first time in more than two years of baseball ... and then, the very next day, Johnny Neun of Detroit made an unassisted triple play - after hearing how Cooney did it, the day prior. Even better than hearing Jim tell the story, is watching his face light up with excitement as he relives the memory.

Jim's uncles were also professional baseball players. As was his grandfather, who was memorialized in the 1888 poem "Casey At Bat." I don't think there is a single person who walks this earth that enjoys watching and talking about baseball more than my mother's 85-year old fiancé.

Have I ever mentioned that Charlie is from Canada?

I write so much on this blog, sometimes I can't recall exactly what I've disclosed.

When we met in Northern California and started dating in 1991, Charlie mentioned that his uncle was affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. Which I thought was interesting, seeing as I'm a baseball buff.

When the Blue Jays were playing in the play-offs in 1992, Charlie's uncle invited us to Oakland - a mere two hour drive south of school - to watch one of the games with him. But, well, we had midterms and jobs and we were busy, busy, busy.

AND LAME.

Because
when the Blue Jays went on to win the World Series in 1992 and Charlie's uncle received the World Series trophy on National Television, I almost dropped dead on the spot.

Because the one thing that Charlie failed to mention was that his uncle wasn't just *affiliated* with the Toronto Blue Jays, his uncle was the Chairman of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was the CEO of Labatts Beer, which happened to own the Blue Jays and if I understand the story correctly, it was his brainchild that the Canadian beer company BUY a baseball team.

So once Charlie pointed out "Hey, there's my uncle Pete..." and I asked "Who, where? The guy handing out Gatorade?" and Charlie said "No, the guy accepting the trophy." I fell clean off the couch and wished with all my might that I could have gone back in time and attended a play-off game with him.

It was only after the Blue Jays won the World Series that Charlie started to tell me stories about how his Aunt Betty (Charlie's father's sister) and Uncle Pete once sent the corporate plane down to pick him up and fly him up to Canada. And the whole time he was on this private aircraft, all he could think was how awesome it was that he could drink as many Coca-Cola's as he wanted. Because he was 12. And what 12-year old doesn't go on to a private jet and think "WOW!! Would you look at all the FREE soda!!"?

The Blue Jays won back-to-back World Series Championships in 1992 and 1993. Then, all of baseball went on strike in 1994 - which happened to be the year that we were married.

I'll never forget our wedding day.

It was absolutely perfect.

Almost all of our friends and family were in attendance and the weather couldn't have been more spectacular. It was the first time that I had met Charlie's Aunt and Uncle (and his beautiful Canadian-based cousins) and word spread like WILD FIRE through my Boston Red Sox-loving family that a bona-fide baseball executive was in our midst.

He sported a white suit and his most recent World Series ring, which was visible from across the room. Everyone was interested to meet him. And when I finally had the opportunity to be introduced, I reached out my hand and said "Hi Uncle Pete, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. But if I may say, we're not off to a very good start. You see, only the BRIDE should wear white and all of these people that are here should be more interested in seeing MY ring than yours."

Then I asked him to
take off his ring and give it to me.


Which he did.

For 20 seconds.

In 1998, when the San Diego Padres won the National League Pennant and were headed off to the World Series, Charlie placed a call to his Uncle and scored us the most amazing seats for all of the games that were played in San Diego.

I have several memories about Aunt Betty and Uncle Pete that were usually created during the various trips when they were in town for business. We would typically meet them for lunch at the upscale hotel where they would be staying and then, meet them again for dinner - after they retired for a two or three hour nap. On one particular day, we met them for brunch at 10:00 AM, split at 2:00 PM so that they could take a rest and then reconvened for dinner that started at 5:00 PM and didn't end until past midnight.

In February of 2005, Uncle Pete went skiing in Aspen, Colorado with two of his friends while Aunt Betty was home in Canada. After spending a morning on the slopes, he and his friends went to a comedy club. While they went back to their hotel room, Uncle Pete grabbed a taxi and was heading out to another comedy club. According to the taxi driver, he was chatting it up one minute, and the next minute, he was gone.

Uncle Pete died instantly of a heart attack at 75 years old.

When I first heard the news that he had passed away, I was terribly sad for the loss of such a wonderful man. But then, I couldn't help but think, "Damn, that is TOTALLY the way I want to check out of this life. A full morning spent skiing at one of the most beautiful places on earth - a nice lunch at a comedy club and then ... adios!"

Now here's a question.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

I do. I totally, totally do.


One day last week when I was hanging on to my sanity by a very thin thread, I was suddenly motivated at 11:05 in the morning, to get the children dressed and strapped in to the car and then I robotically drove to the YMCA - all the while wondering WHY am I doing this, since there are no new classes starting for at least three weeks - and this will just be a waste of time and energy.

But instead, when I arrived at the Y, miraculously (or coincidentally - I think not) there was a n hour long gymnastics class that was starting at that VERY MOMENT and there were only THREE spaces available. And best yet, it was a class that required ZERO parent participation. So while I could sit in the lobby and flip Goldfish crackers to Henry, the triplets would be run all over the gymnasium by an 18-year old energetic instructor.

What are the chances of that happening??

I am not kidding at all when I say that I dropped to my knees in thankfulness, right there in the lobby of the YMCA. Thank you, God.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

I also believe that three weeks ago when for no particular reason I decided to put the Breast Cancer website link on my blog, I was moved by the Holy Spirit. To me, it is nothing short of a divine miracle that my sister, whom I have been estranged from for more than five years, was diagnosed with breast cancer the same day that I added that link.

And tonight, after one glass of wine, Charlie and I have almost definitely decided that in less than three days time, we are going to pack up our four children and drive from San Diego California to Toronto, Canada ... a mere distance of 2,486 miles ... so that we can participate in Uncle Pete's posthumous induction in to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame next weekend.

I don't know if we'll still think driving 6,000 miles with four children will be a good idea in the morning, but right now, the motivation behind doing this trip is powerful.

It is clear to me that the Holy Spirit is once again at work.

Or else, we are total light weights with an out-of-control spontaneous streak.

28 comments:

  1. You're going to drive from San Diego to TORONTO with 4 kids and 3 days notice? Bwahahahah! You are CRAZY.

    Seriously though, hope you have the most awesome time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! What an undertaking. I'm impressed you already have passports for the kiddos! Have a wonderful time!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, since you already have the passports...you might as well get a stamp on them. And, if you'll be going crazy at home, you might as well be going crazy in the car, right?
    Go for it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm a believer! :)

    Too bad you're missing the Celtics parade today!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. yes, you are crazy.

    but i would totally do the same thing.

    this is an amazing story. absolutely amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Okay as someone who lives in Toronto (well really close by anyhow lol) i think its totally awesome that you are going to drive all that way on such short notice. I wish you safe travels...

    now how can i arrange a bumping into you lol...

    ReplyDelete
  7. If you decide to do this, drop me an email. I live 1/2 an hour outside of Toronto and would love to help out anyway I can. We have a fanatastic Science Centre that the kids would love - and I'd love to help with the kids. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I started reading your blog awhile back after a friend laughed about the similarities of your husband and mine purchasing, from Costco, and building giant play structures in our backyards. Anyhow, I love your words, I believe in the Holy Spirit and I just drove a short 1000 miles with my 3 boy all under 4 and girl...you are a trooper!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I BELIEVE!!!! I think the kids would really love that. What a great story. Maybe you should let them drink as much coke as they would like! you know keep the memory alive! Have fun.

    ReplyDelete
  10. How come I didn't get to sit at Uncle Pete's table at the reception??? You know what a huge sports fan I am... maybe then I would've thought twice about taking a goofy picture with the disposable cameras placed on the table!
    Oh yeah, BTW, you know I drove from southern California to Mass. for your wedding so... with this experience, I highly recommend that you fly to Toronto!

    ReplyDelete
  11. um, let us know how that drive goes. we were thinking of driving to colorado (from tx) this christmas but we tried a 1 hour trip a few weeks ago and even it was rough so i'm rethinking. although our kids are younger...

    oh and here is some inspiration for your training. mom of 1yr old sextuplets runs marathon:

    http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25258388/?GT1=43001

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good for you guys! That should be an interesting trip. Our kids do pretty well on car trips. Most rest stops have areas you can run around in and the kids love to hammer on the vending machines.

    And yes, that is a heck of a way to go. Sounds like Uncle Pete lived life to the fullest!

    The kids have passports, right? You may be able to get them in with just birth certificates but I know, at some point, the rules are/were going to change on getting into Canada.

    Have a lovely and safe trip.

    Danielle

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hey...you can come and see me...or wave as you go through here. (You can take the Bluewater Bridge to get into Canada which is 10 minutes from me; we only live 3 hours from Toronto. Hope you have a wonderful time!

    I remember when the Jays won the Series....we were in University and the entire on campus student body was outside singing "Oh Canada" and screaming and dancing....oh the memories!

    ReplyDelete
  14. You can get across the bridge on land into Canada with birth certificates. You need passports to fly from country to country.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Amen sister! Also, as the Canadian welcoming committee, have a wonderful time, eh!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi,

    My name is Jen (nice name, eh?), and I live 20 minutes north of Toronto. I'm a 20-something, kidless (for now) lurker on your blog. I love the stories about your kids. They are beautiful.

    If you need any hints, tips, tricks about Toronto, please feel free to email me at jenna chase at gmail dot com (removing spaces, obviously).

    Don't hesitate to contact me if there's ANYTHING I can do to welcome you to Canada.

    Jen in Ontario

    ReplyDelete
  18. I watched the Toronto Blue Jays in the final game of the 1992 World Series at my uncle's house in Newmarket, Ontario. I was only 7 at the time.

    I fell asleep before the game ended, with a peanut in each hand... and after I found out they won, I was CERTAIN it was because of my lucky peanuts.

    I'm so excited that you're coming to Toronto! I was just downtown last weekend. And it's so cool that Charlie is connected with the Jays. WOW! (So where in Canada did he grow up?! This is exciting news!).

    P.S. RE: Passports... I don't believe you need passports yet as a law for driving across the border, but have birth certificates and have your passports/driver's liscenses with you.

    Enjoy Toronto!!! Definitely let us know if you need any tips or hints or have any questions about the area! (Or if you'd like a baby-sitter???).

    ReplyDelete
  19. Long-time lurker, first-time poster. I love hearing about your daily adventures... and I especially love hearing about Henry since my little guy is 15 months old.

    My reason for posting is just to wish you luck. We drove with our 1yr old from Kansas to Ohio in March and it took us two days each way just to get about 800 miles.

    Some things I learned:

    1. An all-orange colored diet begets orange poop. That stains. (Try as I might, buster only wanted cheeze-its, cheetos and milk.)

    2. You CAN nurse a child to sleep while squatting in front of a carseat and dangling your breast.

    3. Bring A LOT of different DVD's for the portable DVD player that you're going to buy specifically for this trip (if you don't already have one... which I didn't). All notions of appropriate amounts of screen time are trashed after about 2 hrs in the car. The variety is for you, as I'm sure they could watch the same thing over and over again:)

    Have fun! Make sure to bring a laptop so you can post about it as you go!

    dorothy

    ReplyDelete
  20. Jen/Charlie:

    I cannot tell you how excited we are when Betty told us you were coming up to Toronto for the induction ceremony. Can't wait to see you, Charlie and the kids.

    See you soon,

    Stacy, Bill and Jack

    ReplyDelete
  21. is the Spirit moving you to drive or just get there? Cuz you can fly to Bufallo(sp?) for about $650 a piece. Might cost you that much in wine to recover from the drive!

    ReplyDelete
  22. How fun, Jen!!!! YEAH!!!! I love adventures!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I think that's awesome! I'm sure the drive will be chaotic, but just think of all the incredible memories you will create!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I just read the gist of this post to Derrick and out of all the stuff that's going on . . .. his comment was how cool as sh*t it is that Charlie's uncle was CEO of that beer company . . . . .

    Yours in tripletness - Jessica

    I'll miss you on the run .. . . boy will you have stories to tell after this one!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Holy spirit? Or just plain spirits?
    Nah, I'm just ribbing you. I firmly believe there is a force out there helping us along. And for your sake I really hope you listen carefully when it whispers sanity saving tips in your ear or it's going to be a loooong trip!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Nice post and neat story. What a beautiful bride. Have fun in Canada. I love spontaneous trips. By the way, I love, love, love the peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's. Thanks to you, I'm addicted now. What are some of your other favorite things/snacks from Trader Joe's? Anything as good as the peanut butter cups?
    Tammy- mama of 2

    ReplyDelete
  27. I remember Uncle Pete dancing at your wedding in his white suit and white shoes! You're right ....his ring got ALMOST as much attention as the bride!

    Thats great that he will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame...what an honor for his family. But, I must say, you and Charlie have to be a little twisted to be making that drive. Ugh! This is another of your brave and daring acts!

    I hope the kids will be sporting their Boston Red Sox attire!!

    Drive safe and bring your earplugs.
    Regina

    ReplyDelete
  28. I am in awe of you 6,000 kms is incredible but what fun you will have and memories you will make.

    Have a fabulous time a safe trip and wishing you strength and resilience with the going geta tough..

    ReplyDelete