The handsome little fellow you see there is my son, who turns seven today.  He was due in January of 2005, but decided that Mommy’s womb was warm and comfy so decided not to come out until two weeks later.  So anyway, he was born, and we watched the Patriots beat the Eagles in the neonatal care unit the next day.  But this isn’t really about the Super Bowl, but more about our family time at Wrigley Field.

The game shown in the photo is from May 16, 2010 when the Cubs beat the Pirates.  It was a good day for many reasons.  We got to Wrigley Field early to watch batting practice after stopping at the Subway on Addison to get food.

I like how he tucked in the #46.

I caught a foul ball for the boy (shown in photo) that was eventually signed by Ryan Dempster, Anthony Rizzo and Brett Jackson at the Cubs Convention.  We watched the Cubs struggle early, but they eventually prevailed 4-3, so the boy got to see at least ONE Cubs win in person in his lifetime.  He eventually saw another win the following season, but I don’t think he’s ever not enjoyed a Cubs game at the park.  Except maybe for that one blistering hot July game in the bleachers when the Phillies destroyed the Cubs…that was miserable because of the heat.  After this particular Cubs game, though, the boy got to run the bases and he had a blast, although he would’ve been called out for going outside the baselines.  But at least now someone in the Cube family can say that they actually got to step on the Wrigley infield grass.  For those of you curious, you can check out the video on our Facebook page and watch him streak across the infield after going past first base while I’m freaking out because ZOMFG I’M ON WRIGLEY FIELD.

I have a lot of swag that I got for the boy over the years.  When we first moved to Chicago almost six years ago I got him an adjustable Cubs hat that he still has.  Whenever his head stops growing I’ll get him a fitted cap, but he likes his hat just fine.  He has a stuffed Cubs bear I got for him from Wrigleyville Sports, a Cubs pennant, and usually has the Cubs calendar hanging in his room.  We also got a Tyler Colvin bobblehead doll from our first game together as a family (like, with the wife, not just the boy and I).

Whenever we go to Wrigley Field, we usually hop the Red Line from Garfield Station and go past the Cell.  Ironically the very first baseball game the boy went to was at the Cell, when the Twins beat the White Sox.  I remember that Justin Morneau destroyed a baseball for a three-run blast, while Juan Uribe hit a solo homer that almost made it to our seats at the bleachers.  The boy fell asleep…he was only two years old then, but he’s never actually fallen asleep at a Cubs game, so draw your own conclusions.  Nice enough stadium, but the boy seems to prefer going to Cubs games…must be some kind of bias since he’s only been to the Cell once.  I guess I’ll take it though.

Usually it’s just the two of us going to the Cubs games as Mommy prefers to stay home and veg since she’s seen him way too much every day and needs alone time.  That’s really fine for the most part because I rarely get to spend a lot of time with the boy, with my own work and studies getting in the way.  I did get to help him with homework a bit during the week, and on weekends when it’s nice I’ll take him to the park and hang out.  This year his birthday again landed on Super Bowl Sunday so we spent all of Saturday out and about so that he could have his fun before we’d just relax at home all day eating food and playing games while the football and commercials were on, and that was fun.  But it’s great to have a period of five or so hours where we’re hanging out on the train, around batting practice, and taking in a ball game where hopefully the home team wins.  And it’s wonderful to know that he always seems to want to go to the game, and to hang out with Daddy.

He doesn’t have the best attention span (what kid does?) but does know that for the Cubs, walks are bad, strikes are good, and will yell at the Cubs pitchers to throw more strikes.  He likes keeping track of balls and strikes on the scoreboard.  He also knows that Cubs hitters should take a pitch or two each plate appearance.  When he gets a bit older and has better attention I might be able to teach him a bit more about how the game is played.  For now he’s content with his ice cream, his soda and his cotton candy.  We don’t get as many opportunities to do this as finances are tight, but we can usually swing about four or five outings a year.  We’ve even been to a couple night games.  It’s a struggle to stay through all nine innings like Daddy wants, but he’s a really good boy and I’m glad he did stay all nine innings that one day in 2010 so he could experience the joy of running the bases.

Hey, even batting practice can be fun!

Cubs baseball isn’t just about rooting for the team to not suck, but about spending time with your family, including but not limited to your kids.  I’m glad I had that time to hang out with my son, and I hope to do it more and more.  Heck, maybe they’ll even win one in HIS lifetime.

We may not always be in Chicago, depending on how the career and job search go, but we’ll always have our time at the ballpark.  Maybe we’ll continue to come to Wrigley as he grows up.  Maybe we’ll see games at Coors Field, or in New York, or even back in our old stomping grounds in San Francisco.  But it’s great to know that we have at least one thing in common, our love (to some extent) of baseball.  Of course, we also both like video games and silly cartoons and going out to play in the snow, so it’s not like it’s just limited to baseball…

Happy birthday, Jason!  One day you’ll be able to take your offspring to baseball games or do whatever it is you like to do together as well.  And I hope you’ll be able to tell them how much fun it was when you were younger and spent time with your old man.