Big Brother Benjamin (week 211)

This was definitely a week of ups-and-downs as we got news of the big earthquake in Japan, but had a warm and sunny weekend of baseball and parties in Long Beach. Life is a lot like that--where you have to take advantage of the good times knowing that someone else is having a hard time somewhere else. In this case, one of our best friends still hasn't returned to his beach side home in Japan because of all the damage; but we are having a great time in Southern California. We are going to baby happy hours and spending time with our friends; while thousands of people in Japan are still missing. Daddy says that we have to do the best we can to take advantage of the good times, because there will be bad times waiting for us too.

This week we played the Marlins in Cal Ripkin Tee Ball. We definitely played a little better on the offensive side of the ball--with more parents chipping-in and helping to get kids from the bench, to the hole, on deck, and to the plate. Innings went a lot more quickly as we got more organized and we focused a lot of our attention on cheering for our teammates when they were hitting and giving them high five when the scored a run. On the defensive side, there was still a lot of tackling our teammates in an attempt to field the ball--and a lot of distracted players watching anything except the game that we were playing. The good news is that the coaches are learning to be a little more strategic and making progress.

The second wave of disease in four weeks also hit the Keisler household this week. Patient X for the stomach flu (Christopher), managed to pick-up a strange respiratory virus and has generously spread the wealth to the rest of the family. Generally speaking, his strategy is to pick-up whatever is fresh and new in Long Beach from daycare, keep everyone awake at night, weaken their immune systems, and then plant the germ on them when they least expect it. It is a brilliant combination punch that guarantees the family is fighting one thing or another. By Saturday, I was already feeling it and got hit hard by Sunday morning.

Meantime, Christopher acts like nothing phases him. He continues to be full of vim and vigor; with a smile and a funny sound for every new friend he meets. He is babbling much more; waves at everyone who comes and goes; and, does his best to insert himself in whatever game we are playing. While he is a good cheerleader, it drives him crazy that he cannot join the field at our tee ball games. At the end of the game, he gets to run the bases with the big kids and does his best to keep up. He even joins-in when daddy is throwing me batting practice or when I am pitching to him in the backyard. He will be ready to go very soon.