Thanks to CC Carpet, my daughter Laynie got a neat opportunity to be the Play Ball Kid at the Texas Rangers Game in Arlington. Basically she got to go down to the field (in front of 47,000+ people) and say “Play ball!”

Since the game started at 7 pm, we decided to leave Gideon with Kevin’s parents and my mom. His bed time is 7:30 pm and my dad was MORE THAN happy to ensure that little man’s ticket didn’t go to waste.  😉

So once we got there, we planned on getting Laynie a blue Rangers t-shirt for her big moment. Of course, she picked a pink Rangers dress instead. If you know my daughter, this is no surprise. Judge if you must, but I bought it.

I choose my battles wisely.

When the time came, only one parent could go onto the field with the play ball kid, so I suggested Kevin go with Laynie. Unfortunately, I forgot about Captain- the mascot. Laynie is terrified of mascots. She hates the Easter Bunny, Chuck E Cheese, & even Santa Clause.

Needless to say, she looked little fearful as she stood next to Captain yelling, play ball!

Check it out.

But what’s funny about this experience is what happened before Kevin and Laynie went onto the field.

Kevin & Laynie were sitting in the press conference room with some other kids (and their parents) who also took part in the opening ceremonies.

The Rangers personnel were going over procedures for each kid, and when they came to Laynie they asked, “Do you know what you are going to say?”

Laynie softly replied, “Play ball.”

Concerned about Laynie’s volume, the woman speaking told Laynie she would have to yell really loud.

She asked Laynie, “Do you have a brother?”

Laynie replied “Yes.”

The woman continued, “Do you ever have to yell at your brother to stop touching your toys and give back your things?”

(You see where this is going??)

Without missing a beat, Laynie said directly, “No, my brother is blind and deaf, so I do not yell at him.”

Kevin said the woman was so caught off guard, that she looked to him for clarity. Kevin (grinning ear to ear) nodded & told her that Laynie’s brother was in fact blind and deaf; and that he would not hear her even if she yelled at him. After a period of awkward silence, the woman said, “Well….uh…just make sure you say it really loud.”

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that moment!!

When they returned, Kevin told my dad and I the whole story. We cried because we were laughing so hard!!

By the 7th inning stretch, Laynie was wiped out, so we decided to beat the traffic and head home. It was a great night for all us. Laynie felt so important and so special.

We are extremely grateful to CC Carpet for giving us such an amazing opportunity to spend time with our little girl in a setting that was all about her!!