Take me out to the ball game!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to Wrigley Field for a Cub's game for the first time in three years. One of our youth leader's had an extra ticket and offered it to me. I decided that the best mode of transportation to Wrigley would be the CTA. I drove from Wheaton to Chicago so I could park at my Grandmother's old house, and then I took the bus straight down Addison to Wrigley for $2. Because I was by myself, the excitement of this trip was tremendous. To be completely honest, I don't even get to use the facilities alone half the time, so an entire day in the city alone was incredibley appealing.

On the bus ride to Wrigley I realized just how much of a suburban girl I am. I was born in the city and lived there until I was ten. Then my parents moved us out to the suburbs, and I've spent the last 18 years outside of Chicago. After just a few moments on the bus I saw how much I probably stood out. I had on white linen carpenter shorts, flip flops, an aqua blue tank top from American Eagle, dangling white earrings, and I was carrying a huge aqua purse and an ELLE magazine. I screamed suburban prep. I couldn't figure out why everyone was starring at me. I began to look around and survey each individual on the bus...interesting.

There was a man in front of me with a real live mullet. His was black with streaks of gray, and he had on the jean short frayed cut offs to complete his attire. His wife was wearing sweat pants (on a 90 degree day), and she had a real live fanny pack. I smiled on the inside. Anything goes in the city. To my right was an elderly person (I never did see if it was a man or woman) with a huge set of head phones. This person kept bouncing side to side in tune with the music being pumped through those ear muffs. The girls that got on at the stop right after me had the classic curly hair "ratted" to insane heights. They talked like they had a clothes pin on the tip of their noses. I also saw the classic man with a muscle shirt on who was decorated in various snake tattoos. I saw the elderly couple with their shopping bags in tow. The husband kept patting his wife's knee making sure the ride wasn't too bumpy for her. I saw the mom brave enough to take two toddlers on the bus with her. To me that's a big deal, but to her that's all she knows. I was so interested in the people on the bus, I almost missed by stop.

I got off the bus and just took time to savor the moment. Here I am in the midst of 37,000 people and not one of them knows my name. I actually enjoyed the anonymity for once. I'm such a big girl. I found my seat on my own and settled down and waited for the game to start. I was an hour and a half early. This was intentional because I wanted to enjoy every second of Wrigley. I watched batting practice, and the player's stretching routines, I watched the seats fill, and the people walking by. I was enjoying the "silence" of a baseball game. No one was asking me for juice. No one had a diaper that needed to be changed. No one need a lunch packed for work that day. I was absorbing the silence and the beauty of America's past time...

Until...the people next to me found their seats. It was a family of five. A Dad, a mom, and three children of the ages three, two, and one. They shared four seats, which meant that the one year old was constantly being passed back and forth. Of all the thousands of people in the park, I get stuck next to the mobile day care center on the one day in three years that I am at Wrigley. Through out the whole game one kid was whining for a hot dog, then the next one would petition for cotton candy, and then the one year old was fascinated with my sun glasses and kept trying to steal them. I turned to the dad on one occasion and said, "man you're brave." He informed me that he and his wife made a commitment to come to at least one game a year with the entire family. Wow! I'm so lucky that it happened to be on the one day I was trying to get away from my family. Thankfully, they only made it to the 7th inning and instead of stretching, they just left.

The Cubs took an early lead, and then it true Wrigley fashion fell behind. But, to my amazement, they pulled ahead in the 8th inning and thanks to Howry held on to it for a victory!
I loved being in the outdoor stadium, looking at the perfectly mowed lines in the grass, being alone in a crowd, and catching some good ole fashion baseball. I can't wait to take the boys to their first game. Unlike the family next to me, I will wait a few more years.

I stopped at a favorite child hood hot dog stand of mine (Jean and Jude's) and shoved a hot dog down in less than three minutes. I even picked one up for my husband; it was a miracle that hot dog made it home uneaten.

All in all, I love Wrigley and I am going to start a tradition of attending a game by myself every year. Go Cubs!