That’s IT!!! I’m Calling DCFS!

I am. It must be done. Because LP committed a heinous act of child abuse tonight! He got two of my three children to run around chanting “Cardinals Rock”. That, my friends, is child abuse. 😉
See, growing up in SoIL, you pretty much are guaranteed to be raised a St Louis Cardinals fan. It’s sad, but true. I, however, had a wonderful, hard-working, intelligent, loving grandfather who raised me to be a Cubs fan. And for that I am grateful.
LP, however, had a grandfather who was once tapped to play for one of the Cards’ farm teams so he was raised to believe that the Cards are nothing short of holy. Poor man. And if you know anything about MLB, you know that the rivalry between the Cubs and the Cards is a hot one. But my Cubbies loving grandfather was also a preacher. I think I’m right to listen to him.
I still remember the day I walked into my grandparents’ living room, at the age of eight and, upon seeing that Grandpa was watching the Cubs play, announced that baseball was boring. Grandpa didn’t disagree with me. As I said, he was a preacher. He knew how to read people and reach out to them on their level. He pulled me into his lap and pointed at the screen.
“You know how you love puzzles, and word games and Clue?”, he inquired. “Yeah”, I replied, thinking “And I’d love to be doing any one of those things right now instead of watching this silly, boring baseball game”.
“Well all of those things require thought, and strategy right?”
“Yeah”.
I’m still not getting it at this point.
“Baseball is the same way. It’s a game of strategy.”
He spent the next several innings explaining the game to me. By the end, I was hooked. And a life-long Cubs fan was born.
LP and I love our rivalry. We tease and torment each other endlessly. We sneak around and change each other’s Facebook and Blackberry Messenger statuses to root for one another’s teams. But getting my precious innocent children to chant such filth? Well that’s just crossing a line. *smile*
I’m also a Bears fan. He’s a Packers fan. I offered a peace treaty. I’ll let him have a little influence there. He’s a man, and a former football player. He can have that one. But my Cubbies? Well that’s just sacred ground.
To my fellow Cubs fans, have no fear. By the bottom of the 4th, we were heading home. With the Cubs beating the Cards, my children saw the light and filled my van with a beautiful chorus of “Cubs rule; Cards drool” and I was once again a proud momma.
By the way, in case you were wondering, the Cubs beat the Cards 5-1 tonight. The Cards haven’t swept the Cubs once this season. Cubs won one series, the Cards the other, so this series is the deciding factor. But those sad little dirty birds have had a dismal few weeks. And the Cubs have been playing solid ball. Hmmm….now who’s “completely useless by September”? 😉
I’m sure LP will read this, and I’ll have to listen to some Cubs bashing, but that’s ok. My kids are back on my side. All is well. *giggle*