Evie is 7 years old and about to enter the 2nd grade. To play catch, she borrowed the glove Dad bought me when I was in 2nd grade. That was the year I really started playing catch, learning how to catch pop-ups and field grounders and throw farther and farther and farther.
She greeted me wearing her Royals Blue Crew 2017 jersey and I remembered when I used to purchase Blue Crew memberships for my daughters. They wore them faithfully whenever we went to the K. Good, good memories.
Evie wants to be a gymnastics teacher and laughed when I said I used to take gymnastics. How I wish I had some semblance of that flexibility now.
It only took her a few throws to get used to the borrowed glove. She squeezed the tosses and threw the ball back on a line. She then practiced grounders and kept scooting back farther and farther and farther.
“Let’s see if I can throw it from here!”
Narrator: She could.
One of Evie’s favorite movies is Moana.
“What can I say except you’re welcome,” I sang loudly.
Evie laughed. Kaylea and Sophie just roll their eyes whenever I sing that song.
About a week ago, Jake (Day #33) sent me an email connecting Moana to Catch 365.
“I think the thread is community. I feel like that’s the purpose and message of Catch 365 — creating community by bringing together people from all different places in life to share stories and be together.”
Come together, right now, and play catch with me. Or something like that. Baseball really does bring people together. I’ve experienced the truth of that simple mantra every day this year.
I had never made the connection with Moana. Of course, Jake has three young daughters so Moana is often near the forefront of his mind.
Evie’s got serious baseball skills. I can only hope that by next spring she’ll find her way on to a baseball team. And if she needs to borrow a glove, all she has to do is ask.
What can I say except you’re welcome?
