DON'T take me out to the ballgame, please.

We have the last Miracle League baseball game tonight.  It hasn't gone as I'd hoped.

I hoped the boys would adjust to the routine and if not enjoy it, at least go through the motions of the baseball game willingly.  That hasn't happened.  Maybe because they just weren't ready for it, or maybe because we lacked consistency (we missed a couple of weeks due to schedule conflicts, and got rained out twice).  But the fact is, they cry and struggle and appear to hate every second they spend on the baseball diamond.

They took a team photo last Monday night, and AJ managed to stand still for it, but Zack fought us and buckled and fell to the ground, screaming.  I'm sure it'll be a terrific photo with him looking like he's being poked in the back with a hot coal, and AJ standing next to him, crying.  Good grief.  Everyone else stood there for the picture.  A few of their teammates looked at them in amazement.  It wasn't their finest moment.

I pulled them out of occupational therapy on Thursday evenings to play baseball, and now that it's over, I think they should have just stayed in OT.  They didn't get much out of baseball, from what I can see.

I guess there's a fine line between encouraging and forcing.  Maybe we encouraged too much and it crossed that line.  There's a lot we try to do "for their own good," but it's also for us, a little bit.  Because sometimes we just want to have little boys who do normal things, like play baseball.  And this seemed like a great opportunity - a league especially for kids with special needs, where expectations and pressure will be low and they can just learn to hit the ball and run around the bases, and have a good time.

If we could do it over again, I don't think we would.

Potty training is disappointing so far, too.  No progress whatsoever.  I am filling out the intake forms and getting us on the waiting list to receive autism day treatment from Frasier, a program in the Twin Cities.  The waiting list is probably 6 months long, but we need help, and I am pretty sure we'll still need help in 6 months.  Frasier does a lot of life skills training, and that's something we need.

Baseball with the Miracle League

Catching up on a few updates here...

The boys had their first baseball game with the Miracle League last Thursday.  We found a brochure for this program for kids with special needs to play baseball at Courage Center where they have speech and occupational therapy, and we were excited to give it a try.  The first game was kind of a disaster, but every single thing we do is a disaster, the first time.  Remember Vacation Bible School, last summer?  It took them a few days, but by the end of the week they were really getting into it. 

They just need a few more weeks to get used to the baseball game routine, and then they will tolerate it much better.  Who knows, maybe they'll even enjoy it!

As long as they let me wear my gray glove, I'll be okay.

Uh oh.  Starting to be not so agreeable to this....

Yep, definitely going downhill....

What do you mean I have to stand here on base?  What kind of sport is this?  I want to run around!

As far back in the outfield as they could possibly get.

As it turns out, there is, in fact, a little crying in baseball.

It took both Mark and me all our attention and energy to keep the boys from abandoning their team and running for the hills, so Aliza took almost all the pictures.  She did a great job!  We rewarded her with a Sprite and a ring pop from the consession stand.

It was a little disheartening, to see how difficult it was for them, especially when all the other kids with special needs seemed to tolerate it a lot better than they did.  I realize comparisons are useless, but I can't help but notice.

I think we are the family that everyone else looks to and thinks "wow, it could be a lot worse, look at them!"  Yep.  I think maybe our purpose is to make other families with special needs children feel better about their own situations.

I'm just glad we can be of service to others.....

But I plan for our boys to be the most improved of all the kids, too.  Just give them a little more time.

So these two kids with Fragile X play baseball! (more or less)

Zack and AJ are going to play baseball this summer with the Miracle League.  Yesterday we attended the "try-its."  As in, "come try it and see if it's something you'd like, and everyone who wants to play, gets to play."

Truthfully, if you asked either of them if they wanted to play baseball they'd both emphatically say "no."

We don't intend to ask them though, we're just going to sign them up and go for it.

Since it's still winter and cold and snowy, the try-its were in the gym at Lifetime Fitness.  It was a little loud and crowded at first.

Think anyone will notice if we just push this door open and go out into the hall?

We ran through a sort of mock baseball game, in which every kid got a chance to hit the ball, and then ran or rolled or was carried or in our case, was dragged around all the bases.

When they started the game, Zack was just getting to a point where he was starting to take his fingers out of his ears, so I left Zack on the sidelines and dragged AJ over and guided him through the motions.  He fought me hard, all the way.  After he rounded home base and they tried to make him hit again, the tears began to fall and he stuck to my leg like a paperclip to a magnet.

He recovered quickly, though, and I was happy he got through it  The coaches said, and I'm sure it's true, that everyone is a lot more happy and cooperative and has a great time when they are outside.

In the corner of the gym there was a low basketball hoop and a couple of balls. Zack decided basketball might be his game.

Mark was thrilled to see Zack's enthusiasm for basketball.  In my mental crystal ball, I foresee the Special Olympics in our future...

A couple of years ago, I'd have been pretty upset at how much AJ seemed to hate the whole thing, how I had to force him to participate and how miserable he seemed.  I would have been sad that Zack didn't want to play baseball, and just wanted to throw the basketball around in the corner by himself. But I've learned something about these boys. 

Practically every brand new experience is awful.  And if we avoided everything they didn't like, we'd never leave the house.

A little more "breaking in" and adjustment is required for Zack and AJ.  I really feel, though, that this will be an experience they will both love.  And we'll love watching them!

(Check out the Facebook page for more pictures!)