LOL: I am Bearly, managing...

Elevated expectations: No, not the ones that one immediately associates with what we were assembling for, as in the "Little League Parade" followed by the "Opening Ceremonies" which, of course, has to include the ceremonial "first pitch". TG today it was choreographed to have two qualified LL's rather than some local celebrity, given that we'd probably still be searching for what's called in baseball a "wild throw" which can result in what's ruled a "passed ball" and sometimes blamed on the catcher. While all these were collectively the reason for the high stimulation among the LL's assembling, most of which had not only their mitts but their pockets and bags full of candy, as it's part of the pageantry in our town, followed by a cleanup by city workers putting in some OT. From my vantage point, the elevated expectations came from what happens when a parent (or a parent of a parent of one of the players here, which makes me "did you know this is my grandpa?") steps up to be either a coach or a manager. While these roles are often interchangeable, I simply note that in my professional psych. world, I find myself guiding individuals, couples, parents in effectively managing three precious resources -- time, finances, and the precious cargo known as children. Even in the case where couples don't have two legged ones, they find themselves differing in opinions about how to best manage their precious pets or otherwise in-laws, out-laws, among others in their so-called "circle of life". Precious cargo that was getting dropped off mostly by "mother bears" and one case a "papa" but collectively explains the reference "bearly" (and you thought it a typo?) This, together with casual comments like "stick with your coach, he'll watch after you" and "don't worry, I'll see you at the end of the parade..." Forget the fact that my daughter a few years back informed me that in my professional world, at least, I had the strongest endorsement of the "Mom Facebook Group". One would think that, given these moms could get someone elected President (not only of LL) given their resourcefulness and determination, this would also be welcome news. But like any commendation, it comes with high expectations (these moms are not always easy to please). So here I found my-self, TG with the assistance, moral support of my assistant coach, who also heard such comments and had found himself in a similar position when he was "voluntold" to accompany his child's class on a field trip. So, we agreed we would be a tag team, count off each by jersey number (can't use their names in public anymore) and do our best to effectively manage -- as another coach/dad told me "I'll be praying for you, it can be like herding cats" Or a pack of bear cubs, as the case may be. A count-off that became like a cadence, parade march, and ended when we finally, about 30 minutes later, in the appointed meeting place..."all present, and accounted for!". Followed by some other early season instructions from the LL President. But all I could hear, which was like music to my ears, was a collective sigh of relief, from all the managers.  

The rest of the season should be like a summer breeze. 

Next up: A cast of big characters, from my small team...followed, in turn, by "All tied, knotted up"