Birthday, Baseball, and Fireworks

One of the true joys of having children born in the summer months is being able to take them to baseball games to celebrate. We went to a game on Allyson’s birthday, and this week we did the same fro Isaac. After dinner, cake, and presents at home, we headed off to what would be a very memorable game.

Albuquerque, like much of the West, has been under a rather oppressive high pressure system for a few weeks now, and we’ve been consistently at or near triple-digit heat. Tuesday was no exception. According to the unofficial thermometer at the park, the game-time temperature was 103. And being somewhat directionally challenged, I failed to consider the location of the setting sun when I bought tickets, so we found ourselves on the first-base side with the New Mexico sun in our eyes for the first three innings.

Once the sun dipped below the edge of the shaded first-base seats, where, as I was reminded several times, we could have been sitting, we were in much better shape. The home pitcher was wild through the first two innings, at one point throwing ten consecutive balls and giving up six runs through the first three innings. The ‘Topes rallied with a three-run shot in the second and a smattering of one-run innings to finally take the lead in the seventh. And they held on for the win with a strong ninth from their new closer, a fireballer named Roy (not me, sorry to say).

Another advantage to Isaac’s birthday is fireworks. Not setting them off, but having them after the game on his birthday. We get to say that they’re doing fireworks just for him, and, since he’s three years old, he will believe us. But the steady and at times gusty winds threatened to cancel the show Tuesday. So as the game concluded, the announcer came on with news that made the second-largest crowd in team history roar in approval—the show would go on.

The fireworks themselves were nice, but the best part was watching Ryan’s face. He tends to disdain loud and bright things, but his rapt attention to the pyrotechnics was a sight to behold. During the height of the explosions, he actually began to tremble a bit, not from fear or surprise, but the sheer ecstasy of the display.

And as I watched him back in the light from the fireworks, I noticed that, for all my cynicism toward all things pyrotechnic, I too was enthralled, and the look on Ryan’s face was that of my own face a couple dozen years before.