…so I’ll start with the Cubs.  Because goodness knows in my own life, being an optimist is too exhausting.  I wake up feeling crummy, determined to make the best of my day, only to have had to step in to referree not less than 10 fights before I even make it to lunch.  And I’m not talking about MY lunch – that comes much later (if I’m lucky)  after I’ve served up umpteen helpings, cleaned up infinite messes, and responded to various other distress calls.  But the point is that at a time where I could really use my time and energy to focus on me and growing a healthy baby, much of  said time and energy is wasted on what feels like mundane, pointless referring and the like.

But with  the Chicago Cubs opening day mere HOURS away (ok, dozens of hours, but still countable by hours!), I came across the following article which did indeed fill me with cautious optimism  – not for my own summer, no, for there is no doubt  I’m going to feel like a huge pregnant balloon, warm beyond reason, lazy beyond doubt.  I know that I will have 4 little kids to chase around, and I will have to pry myself out of my chair a little earlier in the chase if I’m going to have any hope of catching them to stop the trouble or keep them out of danger.  The optimism isn’t for me  – it’s for the Chicago Cubs.  If you’re a Cubs fan, read the following, and tell me if you agree.  I especially like the line that says, “…allow me to put on the ol’ rose-colored glasses and search out reasons to be hopeful that 2011 will be a better year than 2010 for us Cubs fans.  For one, it can’t be much worse.”

Excellent point, that.  After all, I had to write off my Cubbies after watching what was the debacle they called opening day last year.  Not that I ever tend to give up on the team, I am a Cubs fan affter all, but well, if you saw them play, er um, “play” baseball on opening day of 2010, then you would agree.  Check out the rest of the reasons for optimism here as written by Bob Warja for the Bleacher Report @ bleacherreport.com:

10 Reasons for Cautious Optimism for the Chicago Cubs in 2011

And GO CUBS!!!

Because I was born and raised in the Chicago area, I still peruse the online suburban newspaper; I guess it’s to get my news “fix” because let’s face it – good news is boring.  The more serious or tragic the news, the more interesting it is, and my local daily newspaper just doesn’t do it for me – I mean, local news is interesting, but not in the same way.  So lately as I’ve been reading Chicago news, I couldn’t help but notice these all over the place:

So what is the deal?  What is Year 1?  It’s no secret that the Chicago Cubs are under the new management team of the Ricketts family this year, so I’m sure it has something to  do with that.  And it’s an unfortunate reality that the Chicago Cubs are also the team in baseball to have been without a World Series title the longest…  so I guess management figures that maybe if they just reset time altogether and start from the beginning, the Cubs might have a shot this year.  Two or three months from now, we will have a clearer outlook as to how the “new” team can really play.  But what if the Cubs go nowhere this year, and we fans find ourselves chanting our infamous October mantra, “Maybe next year…” – what then?  Will 2011 be Year 2?  Let’s hope we don’t have to find out.  GO CUBBIES!

Recently there was an article on cubs.com about how it’s been 20 years since Wrigley Field started night games for the Chicago Cubs, i.e. got lights in their stadium.  That made me feel kind of old because I remember that event, and it was 20 years ago: 8-8-88.  Sigh.  Since when can I remember 20 years ago?  But anyway, I remember an elderly gentleman (turns out he was 91 in 1988 and actually remembered the Cubs winning the World Series in 1908 – a stark reminder that there is NO ONE left today who can say the same…) flipped the switch to turn on Wrigley Field’s lights for the first time ever.  Funnily enough, it was a bit too early in the evening, and many fans and spectators said they couldn’t see a difference in the lighting on the field.  But it was symbolic, and Wrigley Field finally had its lights, even if it was the last major league ball park to get them.  And the event was proven even more symbolic than functional that night when the game was postponed because of rain.  So the first FULL baseball game at Wrigley under the new lights was actually 8/9/88.

Apparently the lights were snuck into the field in the middle of the night, under cover, literally.  They were hoisted into place quickly by helicopters, for fear that protestors would shoot them in order to try to preserve the neighborhood’s charm and innocence.  But the plan was not foiled, and 20 years later, we still get to enjoy night games at Wrigley.  GO CUBBIES!!!