Finally, finally baseball season is here.

Callum has been waiting for this day for weeks. As soon as he got up, he had his game face on.

Saturday was Opening Day of our Little League season.

There's a lot of history surrounding baseball in the United States, and a lot of history surrounding Little League too. As you may remember, Callum started playing baseball for the first time ever this past fall. It was Little League Lite.

We learned this fall that the Little League where Callum was playing was going through a sad transition. For various reasons, Fleet Park Little League, which had been in existence for more than 50 years had to leave the facility that serves nearly 500 kids a season. We'd missed all the strife of trying to stay in the same location. And we missed all the strife of trying to find a new one. By the time Callum started playing baseball, an agreement had been met with another city Little League and plans were set in motion for Fleet Park to continue as a joint operation. All that was left to do last fall was say goodbye. Even for us, who'd been there such a short amount of time, saying good-bye to Fleet Park was hard. The Little League had invested $100,000 into the facility over the years, and it took as much as it could with them. Our city really stepped up. Nearly $200,000 was invested in the Little League that we joined, in rebuilding dugouts and regrading fields. Lights were transfered and scoreboards too. There were construction setbacks and weather setbacks, but everywhere people stepped up. The city stepped up and found money and people to help make this season happen, and dozens of volunteers from local businesses to parents and coaches chipped in to make Saturday happen. It was a beautiful thing.

So the Opening Ceremonies were quite impressive and featured a local sports anchorman, a city councilman and the vice mayor. I would have perhaps suggested that they have brought the big kids onto the field first and save the little guys for last (they got quite wiggly as the speakers went on and on and on), but nobody asked me! For those of you not familiar with Little League, the boys teams are named after Major League Baseball teams, like the Yankees, and the Braves. The Girls Softball teams have awesome names like The Ladybugs and Violet's favorite, The Pony Tails!

Callum's on the Red Sox. If you understand anything about American Baseball, you'll understand that we're all trying to come to grips with that.

Most impressive to the kids was RipTide, the mascot for our local minor league team. When I saw that he was grabbing cameras from people, I quietly slid mine behind my back. Even though I was using Old Faithful, there was no way he was getting his hands on my camera!

The ceremony was sweet, with a banner contest, and the Little League pledge, and the national anthem, but really, everyone was itching to play. And finally it was time to get to the field.

One of the things I love about baseball is the ceremony of it. I grew up watching baseball with my dad as a kid and listening to World Series games on the radio in the fall. Little League is that same world made small.

The umpires chat before the game.

The batting helemts await their hitter's turns at the plate.

The chalk lines the infield and the kids warm up, tossing balls from base to base before the game. It's all the same.

The boys sit in the dugout, getting instructions from their coach. I made sure to hang out here long enough to find out where Callum was starting in the field.

Third base.

It was a rough game for our Sox. After getting behind early, they battled back to take the lead only to lose in the bottom of the last inning. Cal didn't bat the way he wanted, and I know he was frustrated. He got more patient by his last at bat, drawing a walk, but he got stranded on base in the bottom of the last inning. It's a long season, though, and there's a lot of baseball ahead of us. Starting with tonight.

At the Opening Ceremonies, one of the managers of our local minor league team spoke. He's been coming to the Opening Ceremonies of this Little League nearly every year for 50 years. And nearly every year he reads the following poem, being careful to note that it was for little boys and little girls.

HE IS JUST A LITTLE BOY

He stands at the plate,

with his heart pounding fast.

The bases are loaded,

the die has been cast.

Mom and Dad cannot help him,

he stands all alone.

A hit at this moment,

would send the Team home.

The ball meets the plate,

he swings and he misses.

There’s a groan from the crowd,

with some boos and some hisses.

A thoughtless voice cries,

strike out the bum.

Tears fill his eyes,

the game’s no longer fun.

So open your heart,

and give him a break.

For it’s moments like this,

a man you can make.

Please keep this in mind,

when you hear someone forget.

He is just a little boy, and not a man yet.

I always come back from a vacation inspired to make changes in my life. Big or little, I want somehow my day to day life to reflect to ease I find when we're living at a more relaxed pace. I still think about breakfasts we had in Germany or Greece and wonder why I have yet to incorporate them into our morning routines. Evening cooking is easier, and last week I found it simple enough to look to Charleston when bringing one of our weeknight night dinners to the table.

I can't think why I don't make bruschetta for dinner more often. Callum loves it, and if we add some other components, as we did here, it becomes satisfying enough for a full meal. This night, making dinner flowed organically for me. While slicing the tomatoes, I saw that we had baby potatoes, so I quickly steamed them and added a dollop of sour cream. We had several chunks of cheese, including a gamble I took on something called Norwegian Ski Cheese (??), and a salami. That, with the potatoes and bruschetta seemed like the making of a pretty good dinner.

It was the first week of Daylight Savings and since our living room is at its best in the late afternoon and early evening, we carried our platters and plates to the front of the house to eat off our laps for a change from the dining table. I thought that I'd have bruschetta left for lunches the next day, but no such luck.

Lauren's Simple Bruschetta

1 small baguete, sliced

1/2 white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 small jar sliced ripe olives

diced assorted tomatoes (I used whatever I have on hand)

vinegar (choose your poison, balsalmic, red wine, whatev)

parmesean cheese

olive oil

parsley, basil, or any other herb you might have on hand

Preheat oven to 350.

Drop a couple of glugs of olive oil into a saute pan and add the onion and saute until translucent.

Add one clove of garlic and saute briefly before adding tomatoes and black olives.

Splash with vinegar and keep warm in pan.

Slice one baguette (I used whole wheat), and brush both sides of each slice with a mix of olive oil and garlic.

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and add a dollop of tomato mixture to each slice.

Sprinkle some grated parm on top of each slice of bread.

Toast in the oven until just warmed up and cheese has slightly melted.

Sprinkle with herb of choice and serve

5-7 minutes.

Enjoy!

Obviously, this is just a starting point, and there are endless variations, but this, at its most basic, is a good place to start.

opening day {life}

inspired dinner {life}