Paying Her Dues

This is what happens when the NCAA athlete has the dreaded prefix “ex-” attached.  She stumbles out of bed at 6 AM (instead of 5:30, because she wants the extra half-hour of sleep), gets dressed and goes out into the cold to pick up breakfast for the softball team, which will be eaten at the start of a five-hour bus ride to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.  Welcome to the life of a sports’ graduate assistant.

Clare won’t enjoy her bus ride because she’s like her father, who believes it is always better to drive than to be a passenger, not that I ever get motion sickness the way my daughter does.  And she doesn’t want to risk taking medicine that will zonk her out; the four hours would be better spent writing a paper than half-sleeping.  Whatever condition she arrives in at Central Michigan, Clare can count on an afternoon of warming up pitchers and maybe charting their pitches.

But, hey, the Chippewas’ coach told the Valpo coach at least it’s not supposed to snow, so that’s something.  So’s the four-hour bus ride back to Valpo.