A Day at the Ballpark

You travel a couple hundred miles with your family to watch your brother play baseball all weekend. You couldn’t even sleep last night because you were so excited to go; watching your brother play is your favorite thing, after all! Your Dad pulls into the baseball complex and you scream with excitement! You are non-verbal but you’ve never had any issue letting anyone around you know how you feel. You can’t wait for them to unload your wheelchair and get you inside the complex. Your favorite team of boys and their families are waiting for you, (I mean your Bubba) inside! Your Dad has to unload all of the baseball equipment, Mom has to find her wallet. Geez, can they hurry? They finally open your door and you are practically jumping out of your car seat to go. Hurry, I can’t wait to see my Bubba play!

Wheelchair. Blanket. Wheelchair shade. Sunglasses. Cooling towel. Backpack with your G-Tube feeding machine and feeding supplies. Sunblock. Mom fixes your bow. CAN WE GO?

Finally, they have it all together. Walking into the fields, you notice that Bubba looks so handsome in his uniform. You have to tell him you love him before he runs off. He kisses your forehead and says “Love you, Kaela. I will see you inside!” Big smile. Awesome, now all Mom needs to do is pay and you can get to your favorite people!

You’re waiting patiently for the gatekeepers to stamp the hands of the long line of people in front of you. Oh look, the nice lady with the sparkly shirt is staring at you. You should smile at her; you love making new friends! You shoot her your famous smile. Hmm, she looked away with a weird face, that’s okay she probably didn’t see you. The little girl with the balloon has stopped skipping to stare at you now. You sure wish you knew how to say hi so she knew you wanted to be friends. You love balloons too! You yell at Mom so she can tell her for you. Mom is always good at telling people you just want to be friends. Before Mom turns around, the little girl’s dad has grabbed her by the arm and whispered at her that staring is impolite, rushing her away. Darn, you wanted her to know you liked her balloon! That’s okay. Mom finally turns and says “I know baby, we have to wait for everyone to pay before us.” That isn’t why you yelled at Mom but that’s okay, she knows you can’t wait to see Bubba. Finally, one family away from paying and getting inside! Oh, you see another balloon but this time there are three! Three kids your brother’s age have now stopped to look at you. They are whispering. You want to tell them your Bubba plays baseball too! Last time, Mom didn’t hear you fast enough so you decide this time you will yell at them yourself. Maybe they will know what you are saying? Bubba always does. You yell in their direction “Bubba plays baseball like you!” and shoot your famous smile. They are laughing now. Why are they laughing? Did they hear you wrong and think you told them a joke? Maybe you should tell them again just in case. You yell “No, my Bubba! He plays baseball like you!” They are trying to hide their laughter now. Hmm, maybe they aren’t like Bubba, maybe they don’t understand. Oh well, look! Mom is grabbing your hand to get stamped now. It feels like you’ve been waiting for hours but it’s only been 5 minutes. FINALLY, you get to see your favorite people, they always know what you’re saying!

Mom doesn’t know which field Bubba is playing on. While she walks around looking for the right field you notice 10 people staring at you both. Wow, Mom is so oblivious, she doesn’t even notice all these people staring at her for being lost. Some are even laughing. She whispers to you “just smile at them, baby.” And you think to yourself “Uh, I always smile Mom, I want to be friends. They just don’t always smile back.” It’s because they know we are lost Mom, duh. Some are even laughing at you! (facepalm) Mom is calling someone now. Thank goodness she will finally find which field they are on. You hear her say “All of these people staring and whispering, how can they be so rude to a little girl?” You wonder what she is talking about. Uh hello, Mom, you aren’t a little girl; in fact, you’re kind of old.

She finally gets you to his field. FINALLY.  There they are! Your favorite people, your family. Kisses on the cheek and hugs from everyone. “Where have you been, Mykaela? We’ve been waiting!” UGH, sorry Mom was lost and had everyone staring at us; some were even laughing at her. Poor Mom! Bubba yells at you from the dugout and blows you a kiss. They saved your favorite spot right by the dugout so you can keep your boys in line. Bubba has 3 games today, YES!!

8 hours later, you are exhausted beyond belief but your Bubba and your boys played amazing. You have no voice left from all of the screaming you did. Baseball sure gets crazy! A few times you yelled during the games when it got exciting! People nearby turned and looked but quickly looked away. Hmm, maybe they don’t understand you like your favorite people? Mom is tired too so you decide not to laugh at her for all the people who stared and snickered at you both ALL day. The word of her being lost must have gotten around. Geez, Mom, how embarrassing you can be sometimes.

Finally at the hotel. Time for rest, another full day of baseball tomorrow. You begin to drift off to sleep next to your Bubba as you think to yourself, “I hope I see the little girl with the balloon again, I still want to be her friend.” But your mom, well your mom is hopeless. Tomorrow you’ll protect her from the stares and laughs like you did today. You thank God she’s oblivious to it all because you know that tomorrow, she will get lost again.