My George Bailey moment

Remember that scene in It's a Wonderful Life where Clarence shows George Bailey how the world would have been less without him? Over the weekend, I got a glimpse into how my life has touched others. 

I spent the weekend with my nephew at the Cubs Convention. I realize how lucky I am – not many 25-year-old men would look forward to hanging with their post-menopausal aunts. Even better, he casually slipped in an invitation: next time we get together for lunch, would I like to meet his girlfriend?

Who? What? He has not mentioned a girlfriend since his days at WIU. 

She's a 31-year-old ophthalmology tech* who recently relocated to the Chicago area and happens to be living behind one of my nephew's favorite local pizza places (and he takes his pizza seriously). She has two cats, both rescues. And she knows all about me. My nephew told her how I got him interested in has passions: baseball and politics.

I appeared casual about this, but I nearly cried.  

Sometimes as a barren spinster, I wonder if my life has mattered. Then something like this happens.

 

*Not sure what that is, but I'll find out. 

The boys were back in town!

 

I spent two glorious days among the faithful. I wore my Grandma's vintage Ryne Sandberg jersey over my 2016 BRYZZO (Bryant/Rizzo) shirt and carried my Cubs purse. There are places where that would be too much. The official Cubs Convention at the Sheraton Grand was not one of them. 

•  Stood close enough to touch the newest Cubs, superstar third baseman Alex Bregman. He's smaller than I expected. (His baseball card says he's 5'11, but I don't believe it.) But positive and friendly and nerdy-smart about hitting. I loved listening to him.

•  Checked out our middle infielders, Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson. Our Butch and Sundance. They are so cute, so funny, and so good. They're both Gold Glovers!

 

 • Excited by how excited Cubs fans are by PCA, the electric Pete Crow-Armstrong. That charming kid is our superstar, clearly the successor to Anthony Rizzo in the hearts of the faithful. He's clever, too. Though born and raised in Southern California, he wore his Bears cap all weekend.

•  Made peace with Clark, the Cubs mascot. Frankly, he's always annoyed me, but seeing him interact with very young fans changed my mind. 

•  Best of all, there was the 2016 Reunion! We celebrated our World Series Champs. I got to see former manager Joe Maddon, who I adore, in his first official Cubs appearance since he was let go in 2019. I was impressed – but not surprised – by how gracious he was. And of course, there was my all-time favorite-most player, Anthony Rizzo! I went to all four of his events, including his grand entrance holding the World Series trophy over his head. Like old Joe, he's retired now but happy and living his best life. My baseball heroes never stop teaching me by example.

 

 

It's not that I don't like the Chicago Bears

... I just don't care about football. I have appreciated the Bears' magic season, though. Not only was everyone in a better mood once they started winning, but I knew I could do my laundry uninterrupted when they were playing.

Last night, during their long over-time playoff game against the Rams, I managed to do four loads. I even washed my mattress cover and pillow protectors! If only they'd made it to the Super Bowl. Then the living room curtains would have been washed, too. 

  

 Photo by Anton Savinov on Unsplash