Last night Tilly finally made it to her first Twins game, an 11-3 pounding of Milwaukee. It was a very auspicious debut as a Twins fan, one that may be impossible to top.
In the bottom of the fifth inning--when the Brewers were bringing in their 3rd or 4th pitcher--she was shown up on the big scoreboard, thanks to a roving cameraman. Her image in the little pink earphones that her mom got her specifically for this night made 35,000 people collectively go "Awwwwwwwwwww!"
She was making friends left and right...a big burly guy with rubber bands wound up in his beard stopped to say hi. A twenty-something year old guy--not the typical baby gushing demographic--asked if he could take a picture to show his girlfriend. Mildly drunk fratboys, young floozies, and old ladies...people couldn't get enough of her.
It filled me with joy...I have never had that much fun at a Twins game, and I think I have attended 200 or more. That feeling of redemption came back...no matter past mistakes or sorrows, I have contributed to the creation of someone so wonderful and adorable and that just makes everything feel alright. Tilly was a magnet for other people's smiles, joy, and tenderness. She slept thru most of it, but also intentionally smiled at me for the first time last night while we were there.
Last night literally fulfilled a dream--to be able to attend a Twins game with my baby. I don't know if my father was a Twins fan or not, but he and I never got a chance to go to a game together.
I waited just about the full 6 weeks that our pediatrician recommended. Tilly will be able to say she attended a game in Metrodome.
To top it all off, the Twins rightfielder Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle (for readers and relatives Down Under, a cycle is when a batter hits a single, double, triple and homerun in one game). That's only the tenth time a Twin has done that in a ballgame, and they've probably played close to 7,000 games since arriving in Minnesota.
Yes indeed, a hard night to top.
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