Tuesday I was at my brothers house with the kids. I brought over a pitching machine that we had in our attic from when our kids were younger. My nephew and I set it up. My niece was feeding the balls, I was fielding and my nephew was batting. "Aunt Pattie, would you like a try at bat?", he asked. Sure, I said. So there I was, swinging a metal bat, at a soft ball, from a pitching machine, on a winter afternoon, with my niece and nephew.
The first pitch was inside. Way inside. Too close to my chest inside. "Aunt Pattie, step back", M shouted. So I take a step back. The ball is fired and I get hit in the butt. "Aunt Pattie, too far back", M shouted. So I take a step in. The ball is fired and I get hit in the wrist. Over and over this is happening. It was like the machine was following my movements. Later we find out, that we hadn't tightened the positioning thingy enough, so it was in fact moving a little bit with each pitch. But it was funny, and we laughed. Such a welcome sound to hear M laughing. He is 11 and deserves to laugh....alot. He's far to young to shed so many tears. My pain was the source for his laughter, and I was happy to be the martyr. Now they were soft baseballs, but when fired out at top speed, they hurt! I was brave to let this go on!
While this is going on, my niece J slips away. M and I are putting the machine away, and commenting on how the day is staying lighter longer. Just then my niece comes out with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. At first I felt like a vampire seeing the light, as she handed it to me. My brain is spinning, calculating how much sugar was in the milk and the chocolate. This is poison to me, I think. I can't have this. I don't drink this type of stuff anymore. I'm on a low sugar eating plan for crying out loud!
And so I did what I had to do. I drank it. Every sugary, chocolaty, sweet bit of it. I told J it was delicious. How did you make it, I asked? First I melted chocolate chips, and then whisked in milk she said. It's wonderful and delicious, I said. The best I ever had. She smiled. And that was the best smile I ever saw!
You did absolutely the right thing in drinking the cocoa!!! She made it with love:) The vision of the ball hitting you is really funny but I know they hurt! Do you have battle scars today?
ReplyDeleteThis post made my heart happy!
P.S. Just don't make the hot cocoa a daily thing;) or show her how to do it with unsweetened almond milk. I bet that would taste good too.
You took one for the team for sure!!!
Pattie it sure sounds like you all had fun. You all needed to laugh. I agree with Kay about the hot chocolate, just show her how to do it your way too.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day :-)
Your sweet niece was serving you-she wanted to gift you...a token of love. In the scheme of life that amount of sugar, etc won't make a bit of difference.
ReplyDeleteA little healing for you all-thank you for sharing a sweet moment in your life.
You totally did the right thing with the hot chocolate. It made her smile and that was waaaayyyyy more important than a small blip in the diet. I've had to try some non BFC foods that my daughter made because that's just what we do for those we love :) Hope you are enjoying your Trader Joe's run!
ReplyDeleteCarey
Good, Aunt Pattie, I'm so glad you drank that hot chocolate, and I'm glad to hear that the kids are able to have moments of laughter and smiles at this point. That warms the heart. Thank you for sharing that beautiful story. :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet thing you did for your niece and nephew and I am sure you just might have a few bruises tomorrow. It sounds like such a wonderful day and what better then some hot chocolate to top it off.
ReplyDeletePatty I really loved your story. You HAD to have the hot chocolate, although I can feel your panic inside when she brought it out. I'm so glad you got them smiling a little.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice time! Glad you can be there for them. I agree about the hot chocolate!
ReplyDeleteHey Pattie!!!
ReplyDeleteReading this post warmed my heart! How lucky your niece & nephew are to have you in their lives.I know you would probably chime right back in with how lucky you are to have them in your life. You are a blessing to so many people and I can tell what truly kind giving person you are just by reading your posts. I am so glad you had that special time together and were able to smile again, even if it was just for a short time.
I agree with kay...it was made with love.
Sending you big warm fuzzy hugs! I have missed you!
Sherri
Wow! I was giggling when first reading and then shedding a couple of tears as I got near the end. How wonderful to hear the laughter of those kids again. You're such a wonderful person, I can just tell! They are so very lucky to have you and I just know your sister-in-law is beaming from above!
ReplyDeleteWow, that was very moving. The world won't end because you had hot chocolate but it may have helped those children continue moving forward.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless