More Than Baseballs Flying

Well we had quite the exciting Monday!

Our local baseball team, the Richmond Flying Squirrels (yes that is really the team's name), was scheduled for their only noon game this season. I decided to take half a day off from work so the boys and I could go. We are all baseball nuts in this family (get it- squirrels, nuts - I crack myself up sometimes).

I met the boys at the stadium, and we settled in for a sunny and hot time. And things stayed that way for 7 innings. Then we saw some angry looking clouds rolling in. They were coming from the west, the part of town where we live. I had received emails about a severe thunderstorm warning for our area, and so we decided to duck out of the game early and head home. That was a pretty good idea.

The storm rolled through and brought with it a tornado. The tornado took out a wall at the stadium, cut power, and blew out windows. Remarkably no one was hurt. But I was very glad that we weren't there and trying to find a secure place to get into with a wheelchair.

The ride home was interesting also. We've survived two major hurricanes in the last few years, and the winds, rain, and hail from this storm looked just like those hurricanes. My two next door neighbors both lost trees, one of which took our a power line. Driving through the neighborhood a little later, we realized just how lucky we were. There were large trees down everywhere, many on houses. We have no power - along with 150,000 other people - but that is a small price to pay.

Hopefully tomorrow won't be quite as exciting....

The view to the west as the storm approaches:



One of my neighbor's downed trees. So very minor compared to other damage in the neighborhood:

Well On His Way

Chip has always done things on his time schedule. He ignored rules such as when he was supposed to start walking as a child - he started at 8 months and I was thinking I would have at least a year before I had to start chasing him. He learned to talk when he was good and ready and had something to say. He didn't let peer pressure influence any of his actions in either middle school or high school. Although he did get his learner's permit when all his same-age peers were getting theirs, he felt no pressure to get his license or even start driving. And I have never had any worries that he would be influenced to experiment with cigarettes, alcohol or drugs.

Chip has also been an excellent money manager since he first learned what money was. Once he started working, he followed the advice so many others don't - pay yourself first. He always has a reasonable balance in his savings account, and he obsessively researches almost every purchase.

So once he finally did decide he was ready to get his license and drive, he was in a great position for purchasing a vehicle. As always, he did his research, and he approached the salesman at the car dealership armed with the price he intended to pay. The salesman, the dealership manager, and the financial manager kept commenting on how prepared he was, how impressed they were, and how they wish their 20 year olds were more like him. Oh, and he did get the price he wanted plus a few other perks thrown in also.

So, at barely 20 years old, a full-time student in college (maintaining Dean's List status), and working full-time, Chip purchased his first car! Needless to say, I am very proud of my boy!!

A Baseball Wish

I think I may have mentioned before that Ronnie has been approved for a wish by the Make A Wish Foundation. We talked and met with Make a Wish prior to his surgery, but everything was put on hold until after the surgery and until the doctor said it would be ok to grant the wish. Well, that has happened!

Now we just need to work out the details and make plans. Ronnie's wish is to meet Adam Dunn, the first baseman for the Washington Nationals baseball team. The Nationals is his favorite team, and he gets so excited every time he sees Adam Dunn on TV. When we took our weekend trip to Baltimore earlier this summer and saw the Baltimore Orioles play the Nationals, we came home with dozens of pictures - almost all of them of Adam Dunn!

I really hope that the Nationals will make Ronnie feel welcome, and that Mr. Dunn especially will understand what a positive experience this will be for Ronnie. I'm pretty confident this will all happen, but even more so after viewing this video that Lucy from Life In Forsyth:

Local Youth Hit The Field With Washington Nationals.