Halo Heaven ...

It's mid March which can only mean one thing...no, no not March Madness, or Easter or Spring......BASEBALL season is creeping up on us! Time to gear up for hot dogs, beer, and above all, my Anaheim Angels; I dare not say Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim because I just think that's plain wrong but that's a whole different tangent.
I grew up watching my older brother play baseball and when the interest of the sport sparked within myself, it was time for me to sign up for softball. I started playing when I was about 9 years old and played until I was about 17 when I finally hung up the cleats and glove. There was nothing like traveling every weekend in cold weather, hot weather and just playing from sun up until sun down. I met a handful of life-long friends playing the sport of softball and I can't imagine what my life would have been like without the sport, without the adventure, without the experience and without the friendships. It was definitely one of the first loves of my life and boy did my parents know how much I loved to play, which meant if I ever got in trouble....it was the one thing they took away from me by requesting the coach to bench me. (This happened until the phone came along which became another love of my life and my parents quickly realized that was far more difficult for me to live without so they learned to take that away from me instead.)
I've always enjoyed the smell of the dirt on the field, the horrible food at the snack bar, the sound of chatter and cheering and to this day I still enjoy the friendships that I made along the way:

 

I love watching the college softball world series and remembering what's it like to have so much passion for the game. I still have so much love for the sport baseball and softball. Some find it quite slow and boring, but with one swing of the bat, one bad pitch that rolls by the catcher, one terrible throw to first base .... the game can change. And as slow as it may be sometimes, it can definitely change in the blink of an eye.
I'm 100% an Angels girl, always will be through thick and thin. I watched them struggle for years and then rise to the top in 2002. I was there for all the championship games and every world series game, including game 7 when they clenched the title. Probably one of the best experiences of my life to say the least! This year should be another exciting and hopeful year for our boys in red .... got a nice preview with some of my softball girls this past weekend in Tempe, Arizona where we enjoyed a little fun in the sun at Spring Training. The boys aren't looking too bad so hopefully they will take us all the way again this year, 10 years after our last championship. I'd say we are due :o).

 

So with my tickets in hand, my Angels team gear pressed and clean and ready to wear, I look forward to baseball season (very impatiently I might add)....LIGHT UP THAT HALO!