Curveballs

Why does it seem when the game of life is pitching balls in the strike zone — the perfect hit — it throws a curveball instead?

Just a general observation… Not all curveballs are bad. For some reason people think that curveballs are bad. Some are very much welcome; it’s a refreshing change of pace.

Good examples:

Both people who are on my “team” at work — Jacqui and Jamie — fell into place by accident. Jacqui (our neighbour) stepped in when the woman we hired to take over the Operations Administrator position was “too ill” to take it. Jamie (Noel’s nephew) wanted a job, and with the massive amounts of data entry we have to do at work, there was definitely a job there for him. Both of them need the least amount of instruction and pick things up so quickly that I feel absolutely positively confident in their abilities. They do things to 110%. We make a good team, which is awesome considering we are a team created by life’s curveballs.

Jamie. Noel’s nephew fell into our lives when Noel’s brother Bob was talking to us about Jamie wanting a job dealing with computers, so Noel obliged. I don’t know exactly what Jamie has and what he doesn’t but I don’t know if it is much. He’s had more curveballs pitched to him in life than most of us could ever handle, but still turned out okay. I feel some higher power sent him to us so we can help him. It’s a curveball. Me equipped to help a 16 year old? Amazingly, people who know me say I have an innate ability to make people feel at ease. He just seems to click with me.  So I’m going to try to be the best role-model I can to him, and I’m sure Noel will as well.

People drift into my life and I am so grateful for their friendship and love. John, Anne, Adam, Dave O., Jacqui, James are all great friends from the past and the present who seem to care about me and love me as a friend and I don’t know why! But they were all curveballs, people I thought when I first met them that there was no way I’d meet their criteria for friendship (without even knowing the rules). Stupid assumption on my part, but they all took me in without question, without judgement and I don’t think they know how much that meant to me (and still does mean to me). So to them I always say thank you!

I never knew where I’d end up career-wise. And then I landed at the school and it changed me. I never thought I’d be in education, let alone tertiary education, and life threw a curveball; 11 years later and I still love it.

Previous relationships weren’t exactly the best. We fought, we swung at each disaster that life would pitch at us and still end up without any runs. No score: a game full of innings and more innings.

And then I met Noel and I never feel judged. We rarely fight. Disagree, yes. Fight, no. We joke, we laugh, even at the dumb jokes we both make. We like the same things, mostly (no smart comments about Madonna and Buffy!!!) And I feel comfortable with him and we’ve proven, as a team, we can beat each disaster pitched at us, smacking doubles and triples and home-runs. What a score we make together!

These are curveballs, the unexpected, the unwanted but thrown pitches that advance the game. Sometimes we strike out and sometimes we score, but sometimes it’s the way we look at the game.

And you know what? I love the game. I love life and all it’s quirks and turns and high balls and low balls and everything in-between. If it isn’t interesting, what’s the point of the game of life?

Bring on the curveballs.