Ry and Coop Dot Com

Yesterday I celebrated my 33rd birthday with a family outing to the Tri-City Valley Cats game against the Staten Island Yankees.  Though Cooper wouldn’t let us stay past the 7th inning, it seemed the Cats just didn’t have it last night and lost 5-2.  A funny thing happened to me though while I was sitting at the game with my Grandparents, parents and family.  I took a moment during the game to look at the game of baseball and wondered how many countless families have had similar nights and realized just how important baseball is to this country.

In the course of pondering the importance of baseball, I also wondered why weekend games would start at 7pm.  Sitting at this single A ballpark in Upstate New York, I pondered the future of America’s game and hoped for a better future for the sport with declining popularity.  In an age where we can only give 3 hours a week to football, baseball seems to be taking a back seat.  With overpriced park tickets and late start times for TV, it seems that baseball is focusing more on the immediate and less on its future.

Nothing could be more evident in this than my own life.  I played baseball, I like it for all the reasons I’ve mentioned.  My father, he loves baseball for all the reasons I’ve mentioned and then some.  My grandfather? I think the game, for him, may run through his veins.  It’ll be interesting to see where the game finds itself with my two boys.

 I’d end this with something clever but I think George Will probably said it best when he wrote, “Baseball, it is said, is only a game.  True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona.”

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D991f5a7ec9edb142%26itag%3D5%26source%3Dpicasa%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%253Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1419410509%26sparams%3Did,itag,source,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D486280CEC617D5A01F0CA167D8EDA5996D98BBC.9006D59739396675491B31C32D308D8A35A35A1F%26key%3Dck2I must preface this video with a warning.  Actually, this “warning” is more like a philosophical question that’s been pondered by many and answered by few.  Why are fart noises seemingly universally accepted as hilarious?  Jenn and I put this theory to the test yesterday during a very rainy Saturday afternoon which had us all cooped up in the house.  (Incidentally, I will not apologize for the brilliantly played play on Cooper’s name.)

But I am honestly amazed of the humor in fart noises and, this is not new.  Even Baby Dionysus, son of Zeus in the Homeric Hymns was being held by Apollo when he released a “Gassy Omen.”  Now, let me be clear on one thing lest anyone thing I’m really that well-read, I totally got that from Googling “Why are fart noises so funny.”  Anyway, that’s all the lead-in I have for Cooper’s first real clear giggle… oh he’s growing up so fast!  And he’s just like his father, laughing at all the flatulence noises I can.

Okay so, after three years, I consider myself to be an expert father.  I’ve got this thing down… feed ’em, water ’em and make sure they don’t flush large objects down the toilet… other than that, we’re good…okay, I lie… I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing but, like when I get in over my head with computer hardware or code, I figure as long as there are no fires or major catastrophes, everything can be fixed.

I say that all so that I can say this.  I’m noticing a sort of quirky personality starting to form with Cooper that is fascinating and encouraging.  He’s like an old man trapped in a baby’s body.  He doesn’t like loud noises (especially his older brother’s screaming), he hates being wet but loves being fed and if he has gas or tired, watch out…he gets mad.  But literally, other than that, he’s fine doing whatever… and I do mean..whatever.  Tonight, as I type this, I can see him in the video monitor, wide awake and looking up at his fingers.  He’s not hungry, doesn’t have gas and I can assume he’s dry..so that’s it… he’s basically said to Jenn and I, “Look, here’s the deal, you feed me, water me and burp me…multiple times a day… I’ll sleep through the night for you and generally try and stay out of your hair.”  It might be cursing it and this is risky right before bed, but I think I’ve got this little man pretty much figured out…. I think.

For those of you who are not yet aware, I am a single dad for most of the weekend.  Jenn is at a weekend-long gym training that brings her home around 6:30.  As I write this, I realize how insensitive that statement was to the many real single parents who’ve had to struggle… this has been far from a struggle… dare I say it’s been… well… easy!

I’m reminded of the scene in Jurassic Park where the T-Rex is about to eat the park visitors when the one scientist says “don’t make any sudden movements, he can’t see you if you’re not moving.”  Jenn, before she left yesterday, gave me the most valuable tip in the world.  She gazed into my eyes with a loving look and, similar to the scientists in Jurassic Park, said “Play with this one as much as you possibly can (pointing to Ryan) and keep this one fed (pointing to Cooper) and you should be fine.”  So far, I have to say, she was right!  Yesterday we hit up the new train museum near our house which, as confusion would have it, didn’t have any trains but did have a giant tank!  We had fun and, most importantly, everyone was entertained and fed!

Many of you that I know have completed a marathon.  The marathon is one of those races that many can do but fewer can well.  It’s 26.2 miles after all!  Now, can you imagine doing 112 miles on a bike? I’ve done 100 before and it was challenging but rewarding.  How about 2.4 mile swim?  I’m pretty sure, having done 1.2, that I’d likely drown.  Now, can you imagine doing them all together?  How about with a bruised wrist and a torn up elbow after falling off your bike?  Well that’s what my friend Blair did recently..amazing!

Mr. Ryan and I went up to Lake Placid to watch this year’s 2012 Ironman and all I can say is he was impressed.  There were some questions like “Why is Blair going so slowly (he wasn’t, he finished in 10 hours and 33 minutes!!!)  but I think he was comparing it to Olympian Andy Potts who blew past us earlier in the morning at lighting speeds.  As you can see, he was slightly confused when Blair  flew by.

So, kudos to Blair for finishing an amazing race and, more importantly, I think we may have inspired a new ironman in the future.. no, not me.

I’m not one to relax easily.  I get that from my father, I’m pretty sure.  My mind races constantly with things I need to do for work, is everyone having fun, are we spending too much money, are we being too cheap?  I don’t unwind easily.  I think that’s one reason why I love Disney World so much.. you go a mile a minute until you crash and there’s no time to relax.

With that said, I’m doing my best to try and relax on our week-long trip to  Cape Cod.  With an ocean view from our hotel room (Courtesy of my parents who were gracious to get us a week alone on the beach so Cooper wouldn’t have to go far since he is only on the beach for 20 minutes at a time)  how can you not relax.  The boys are enjoying themselves and Ryan has even learned to swim with swimmies on… pretty impressive!

So all in all, hot sun and ocean view plus these smiles and relaxing really shouldn’t be that hard….

I don’t typically think much of July 4th.  It’s a holiday that sneaks up on me, I never really plan for it, and I’ve never really completely understood why people celebrate it.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I understand that it’s important we acknowledge that we have the longest standing republic in history and that we should be thankful for our freedom but I, for one, like many Americans take that for granted because we’ve known nothing else.

Then it hit me as scan through pictures on my camera before attempting to mow the lawn (and really procrastinating) that I’m thankful every day for those freedoms without even realizing it.  It’s become so much a part of all our lives that I live thankfulness with each photo I post.  I’m thankful for all that we can do and, more importantly, thankful for all those who’ve allowed me to do it.  So, a tip of the cap to Tim Moshier and all the others who decided that my freedom was worth the ultimate sacrifice.  It’s because of them that Ryan and Papa can walk through a field without worrying where they step and why I need to remember that July 4th means something very important.