No Crocus But Softball Season Is Here

As I drove home from church tonight on slippery roads with poor visibility, the snow was coming down hard. I felt like spring was not just around the corner. In fact, we’ve often had heavy snows and even blizzards in March here in Southern Illinois.

Nevertheless despite the snow tonight, the Winter Olympics going on, and another month of winter to go, women’s college softball season has started. This weekend had tournaments for both “our” teams. The University of Georgia team, where our son is an assistant coach, traveled to Florida, and won three out of four games. (Friday’s games were rained out down there.) Granddaughter Erin’s Texas A&M team played five games and won four.

Gerald was able to get audio accounts of A&M games on the computer, but Georgia’s game tracker was mute and not functioning for us. We had to find out the Bulldogs’ news by phone calls to our granddaughter Tara up in Aurora. Tara keeps up with her dad’s team by constant phone and text messages with her mom and/or her little sister Geri Ann. They were able to drive down to Claremont, FL, on Thursday night since Geri Ann had a long weekend break from high school. Tara has coached a summer traveling team supplying players for the colleges, and naturally she takes intense interest in college ball.

Gerald enjoys the excuse to phone Tara because he not only likes to talk to her but he likes hearing our two great grandsons in the background. He claims Maddux said PawPaw. Aiden had been to hear his uncle play and sing yesterday, so he was busy with his play guitar imitating.

Erin has already completed her four years of college play, but she is in her fifth year since she lost education credits from St. Catherine’s and others from Notre Dame when she transferred to A&M. (I am assuming if she ever decides to teach, those education credits will count towards a license in whatever state she ends up in.) Right now she helping Jo Evans, her much admired coach, with this 2010 team, and she is mighty excited at how well they are doing. Erin is also giving private lessons to some kids in the area until her graduation, and she loves working with them. Then she heads home to her parents in Georgia to get in shape for a summer in Europe playing for the Austria Sharx.

I’m dreaming of another trip to Oklahoma City for the Women’s World Series at the end of the season. I am hoping that Georgia and Texas A&M both make that tourney, but I certainly don’t want one of them to end their season with them playing against each other. In the meantime here at Woodsong, we will finish up winter following softball, and surely the crocus will be here before we know it.