A few weeks ago, we bought a whiffle bat and ball set and some other outdoor toys and, several nights after supper, we've headed out to the backyard with our Bluetooth speaker and bug spray to enjoy some family games until dark.  Yes, my kids are almost 21 and recently turned 15, but not too old to play with plastic toys labeled, "Ages 3 and up".  We like to push the limits of the word, up, around here.   

I've learned a lot from playing whiffle ball in my backyard as a 47 year old. 
1)  I've always wondered what those sports announcers meant when they mentioned someone having a pulled groin muscle.  I know now. 

2)  Just because you were really good at ball when you were 15 doesn't necessarily mean you'll be good at it when you're 47.  It is not a skill with a long shelf life.  There is a season for everything.  Turn. Turn. Turn. 

3)  When your daughter's boyfriend is a college baseball player....... always, always, always get on his team.  And if you can't get on his team, make up a rule that he has to bat left-handed.....and run the bases backwards. 

4)  Picking teams isn't nearly as fun when you're 47.  Just because you were always one of the first girls to be picked on the playground......if you fast forward 40 years, you will find out how that last standing, pigeon-toed, clumsy girl with the thick glasses always felt. 

5)  Nothing will take you back in time like standing in the grass slapping at the mosquitos biting your ankles.....sweat pouring down the back of your neck, playing ball until the frogs and katydids start to sing.  You will find yourself expecting to hear your Daddy whistle for you to come home for supper. 

6)  The morning after playing whiffle ball at age 47, you will experience soreness in muscles you haven't used since you had to choreograph and perform an aerobic routine to "No Parking on the Dance Floor" in 10th grade gym class.   

7)  Running is not what it used to be.  It is way more jarring at 47.  And things jiggle more.  And pop more.  It's just a whole lot noisier than it once was.     

8)  Making up the rules as you go to benefit your team is still a thing and pegging someone in the back of the head with the ball is still just as fun when you're 47.  That no hitting above the shoulders rule is only for wimps and those with clotting disorders.     

9)  Something about playing ball in the backyard makes you thirsty for black cherry Kool-Aid in a Tupperware cup.

10)  Playing whiffle ball at dusk, where a rattlesnake was recently found, only adds a sense of adventure to the game.   

11)  To avoid unwanted cardiac events cutting the game short, a timeout can and should be called to catch one's breath if the aforementioned 47 year old hits a double and has to run all the way to second without stopping. 

12)  You can make a lot of good memories playing with a plastic ball and bat with your almost grown children and husband when you're 47.  $7.99 plus tax can buy some good times.....good times.  I would highly recommend it.

 
Davis was caught "doping" on ibuprofen after the game.  Blair has many, many skills and talents, but when she bats, everyone moves in an insulting distance. 


John Samuel looking scared that he will be struck out by his girlfriend's mother and, consequently, lose his baseball scholarship.  Carson, in negotiations with the other team, trying to trade his mother.......his own mother.


Have a great Wednesday!

We're working our way closer to the weekend, y'all!