Howdy! Since you have clicked on this link, you must be interested in who I am and what I have to say. Thanks!

I’m Jennifer Skinnell, a mother of two grown children, a quilter, and an aspiring writer. My husband and I live in suburban northern Virginia. As with many in the crafting profession, my mind tends to go in many different directions. With this blog, I am attempting to corral those thoughts and make some sense of them. I am not here to enlighten you on world events, or teach you something you don’t already know. You have TV and the Internet for that. I’m just trying to brighten your day just a little bit. So on any given day, I may write on any given topic. Just whatever has popped into my head that day.

Today’s topic: Thoughts from a baseball game.

Last night my husband and I had a wonderful time going to see the Washington Nationals play the Detroit Tigers. It was $1 hot dog night, so it was a pretty cheap date night. The first thing we found out was that there is a difference between $1 hot dogs and the regular hot dogs. And that by the time you eat enough $1 hot dogs to fill you like one regular hot dog would, you might as well pay for the regular one. But, hey, buy some fries to go with it, and you get full. If you are trying to lose weight, park farther from the stadium.

It was also U.S. Navy night, so that was cool. The Navy Precision Drill team was awesome to watch. And when you see all the service men and women dressed in white uniforms lining the field for the National Anthem, you can’t help but be choked up. We can see the main gate concourse from our seats. Usually when we go to the game, we see people out on the concourse during the National Anthem still taking selfies, talking, and getting to their seats. Last night everyone in the complex stopped what they were doing to listen to the amazing musician in his dressed whites singing the National Anthem. The respect was a wonderful sight to behold.

We thought there might also be a flyover, but unfortunately not. However, there was a momma duck and her duckling that kept landing in the outfield in front of us! They even waited until between innings to fly out of the stadium.

Once the game begins, I have a hard time focusing on what’s going on on the field. There are too many distractions. (Probably why I get way more out of it watching in my living room). We have a 10-game ticket package, so some of the people around us we see every game. But, last night there was a young man from Germany in front of us. It was clear he didn’t understand the game, and the lady next to him was doing a great job of explaining what was going on.

Thus began my wondering of what it was like to see a game from the eyes of someone who was not from here. If you haven’t been to a Nationals game then you may not know what happens in the fourth inning. If you have, then you know where I’m going with this one.

The Racing Presidents are a staple at Nationals Park. What is it like for someone who hasn’t been here before to see people with regular bodies and giant heads running out of the center field gate and racing each other to the finish line? I wanted to ask the gentleman from Germany what he thought, but never had the chance. I’m sure the irony of big headed politicians racing was not lost on him, but this is not a political blog, so I’m not going there.

The Racing Presidents are stars themselves, with their own link on the Nationals Home Page. If you’d like to learn all about them, and maybe book them for an appearance, here’s the link: http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/fan_forum/presidents.jsp

The rest of the game continued on, and unfortunately the Nationals didn’t pull out a win. But being able to experience a game at the park is awesome. Yes, traffic to the stadium may suck. But that happens every day in DC. But, being able to be there for a few hours, see all the little kids’ faces light up when they see the players, the Racing Presidents, and maybe even themselves dancing on the big screen between innings is worth it.

Sometimes you just need to take the time to look beyond the game and experience everything that is going on around you. It can really put a smile on your face.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your day to the fullest!