54

I turned 54 years old yesterday. 

I'm not big on birthdays.  Never have been, really, at least not since I was a kid.  I don't care about getting presents.  I don't want to have to expend the mental energy to tell my family what I want for my birthday.  That doesn't make things too easy for them, I know. 

Also, I've been incredibly busy at work, so my birthday this year kind of sneaked up on me.

So did the fact that I'm 54.  I mean, damn, that sounds old.  Probably because it is old.

Yesterday morning, J.P. and I ran 4 miles together.  That, in and of itself, was a birthday present to remember.  Every run we get together is special to me.  Every single one.

I left work early and went to pick J.P. up from golf camp at The Little Court (at Legends Golf Club).  When I arrived, he saw me and walked over to my truck to put his golf clubs in the back.  Then, he trotted off to say thank you and goodbye to the instructors and a friend or two he had met.  He did that on his own - with prompting from me.  That made me proud. 

He seems to love golf, a sport that I've never played consistently.  He's a quiet kid in many ways, not overly emotive or demonstrative.  Maybe golf will be his sport or, at the very least, a lifetime pursuit.  I'd like that, I think, because I'm such a fan of golf and golf history, even though I don't play the game.

At any rate, J.P. and I rushed home to change clothes, then rushed out to his baseball game, which had been moved to a 5:45 p.m. start.  Dodgers - Red Sox. 

I juggled the lineup a little bit, anticipating that the Red Sox weren't that strong of a team.  I was correct in that regard, although they gave us a competitive game. 

Ethan worked a couple of innings and managed his emotions well.  J.P. caught Ethan and other than one passed ball that allowed a run to score, he was comfortable behind the plate.  For the first time in a while, Benton caught, too, and did reasonably well.  I pitched Turner an inning plus and, though he struggled a bit, he did well once he stopped aiming the ball and just pitched it. 

The boys got the Dodger bats going, which was good to see.  Benton hit his second home run in two games, a shot to dead center field.  Elijah followed Benton's home run with one of his own, also to center field.  I moved the boys around a lot in the field.  They love to play positions they don't normally play.  I got lots of smiles, for example, when I played Wes at shortstop, Porter at first base, Aidan at shortstop, and Cooper at third base. 

Turner got into a bit of a jam when he tired in the fourth inning.  With a runner on second and third, not outs, and an 11 - 8 lead, I decided not to let the win get away from us.  I brought in J.P. to pitch, so I could save Porter and Benton for the weekend and because J.P. has good control.

Sure enough, J.P. picked the runner off third base right away, then retired the next two batters on six pitches.  No runs.  He got the save and I was proud of him for putting out Turner's fire.

I think the final score was 13 - 8, as the game ended with us batting in the bottom of the fourth inning.

As I packed up my truck and left, I called in a takeout order - for the millionth time - to Burger Up.  Troy was working, so he made me a "Friday Night" to go that was ready for me when I arrived.  He wrote "Happy 54th, Phil" on the plastic cup.  My guy. 

Understated birthday?  Yes, but one of my favorites, too.

Even before my boys - my Dodgers - sang happy birthday to me after the game and Scott Tygard recognized me over the public address system - I told someone that on my birthday, there is no place I'd rather be than at the ballpark coaching our boys in a baseball game. 

That was the best birthday present of all.