Fast forward quite a bit. Now I am raising two Red Sox fans (7
and 3 ½) in Huntersville, North Carolina. They both have Red Sox shirts, hats, lunchboxes
and foam beards, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa. Tyler also has a jacket,
blanket and bag. Molly has a dress and actual dirt from Fenway Park. Of course
in the past couple of weeks, bed times have been relaxed a tad in our house when
the Red Sox are on TV.
We were lucky enough to take the kids to Fenway Park in June.
I will never forget the wonder in their eyes or the eyes of their grandparents when
our team took the field. It was pretty cool to have three generations together
in Fenway Park.
With all this said, there have been two times so far this
season, when I have had to shake my head at Tyler and Molly and ask them what
they were thinking.
Before taking Tyler to faith formation this week, I asked
him to change his clothes while I made him something to eat. I was on the phone
with his dad, when he entered the kitchen, spread his arms open and said, “Well,
how do I look?” I yelled, “Are you kidding me?” while almost dropping the
phone. He had a Cardinals shirt on. One day before the first game of the World
Serious (as he calls it) and he’s wearing a Cardinals shirt! He said, “What,
you don’t like the color?” I said, “The color isn’t the problem,” as I quickly explained
to Todd what the commotion was. Todd said, “Make him take it off, he is jinxing
Big Pappi!” Tyler is a cooperative boy, so he took it off, ate his dinner and
let me pick out another shirt for him. He said nothing else, but kept a smirk
on his face.
Now, let’s go back to the game against the Los Angeles
Angels. We had great seats on the third baseline and the crowd was friendly,
just as you would expect. Molly had her new tie-dyed Red Sox shirt on and a
pink Red Sox hat (the only think pink she owns). Her curly hair was flowing in
the wind and her smile was contagious. She loved Fenway Park and was making
friends with the people around her, taking peanuts from the guy behind her and
high-fiving the guy next to her. Then the unthinkable happened. She stood up,
looked around to make sure she had everyone’s attention and yelled, “Let’s go
Yankees!” I am pretty sure Fenway Park came to a standstill or at least our
section of seats. Did my three year-old just say the “Y word” in Fenway Park?
Luckily she started to laugh, breaking the tension. She sat down, with a smile
on her face and said, “I mean, let’s go Red Sox!”
I am sorry Red Sox. My kids love you, but they also love keeping
us on our toes and making us laugh. They really weren’t jinxing you and they
hope to visit Fenway Park again next summer! They are even hosting a World Series
party Saturday night.
True confession of the day: My kids have discovered the gift
of sarcasm at a young age.
