Book Club

Most of you will not be surprised that katy and I belong to a book club. Our book club is the charming evolutionary subdivision of our softball team (which I wrote about at the beginning of last season.) Softball in the C. Women's League is not necessarily a hearty workout, but it does get your heart pumping- especially when you are afraid of getting injured and/or you get angry at members of another team (in rare instances, members of your own team.) I started playing softball on this team before I could legally drink. It became clear early on that first season that I could jump around and play if i wanted to, i could smack the ball, run the bases, even score some runs, but I was not entirely useful to the team and would not be a full-fledged member until I could fulfill the cooler-caddy requirement without bringing a "10-9" or police investigation down on the team.

That was several years ago, and my growing fear of injury is nothing compared to the women who welcomed my practically pubescent body to the team when they were my age now (at least that's what i gather from the rounds of: "Oh, shut up" that I get every time I mutter that I'm not as young as I used to be.)

Some things have changed: During games, we hear less of "ROBERT! GET YOUR SISTER OUT OF THE PARKING LOT!" And more of, "Well, they broke up last semester, but she still slept over our house with him last night..." There have been a lot of celebrations- marriages, births, promotions, and new homes. And a lot of devastations- divorces, illnesses, and death over the years. We've added some openly gay players. (I came out to the team when katy started coming around to watch, and katy was invited to join when Deb M decided that there was no need to struggle through the game with a plastic cup of wine if she could find a youthful and athletic replacement for her position.)

These are some of the most generous, hilarious, fun-loving, non-judgmental, compassionate folks I will ever know. Nancy, Deb, and Sue's response to my timid assertions of gayness in my mid-twenties truly made it possible to feel like I could come out to my family and my family's friends- at a time when that didn't seem probable. Years later, I was surprised to realize how nervous I still was to invite all of them to our wedding- and then I realized how ridiculous I was to be nervous: Deb M, Barb, Karyn, Sharon, Terry, Erin, Cathy's excitement over our wedding celebration, and the "put-me-in-coach" dance-off they all choreographed at the event are some of our favorite moments when we reminisce. Getting to be one of Jessica's peeps and watching her start a family has been like getting to be an aunt to another adorable little one and has given me the chance to glimpse what all of my team-mates will look like in "grandma mode." (Don't get offended ladies, it's still a while off, but isn' it nice to "play" grandma in your youth?)

Book club began as a way to- well, drink in the off-season... but now i realize these brilliant organizers of life and family were probably orchestrating how we could/would stay a team if (and when) some or all of us ever decided to leave softball. Every year, there are more frequent conversations of "not playing next year" or "maybe there won't even be a league." Every time I hear this talk, I cringe. Not because if that happens, I will feel old and it will be the end of an era, even though it will absolutely be the END OF AN ERA. But because... I'm not sure there is anything as exquisitely satisfying... Any more perfect reminder of the simple pleasures in life- than what I experience a few nights a year: Hanging out at ol' CHS on a warm summer night, drinking miller lite out of a can, possibly BBQing, laughing and enjoying a sunset with these women and our families. Luckily, if the day ever comes when we aren't all playing together... at least we'll have book club!

Thank you for your kinship... and the yummy soup!