Dodger Delirium!

My Wednesday night verged on the surreal. We came home from appointments, and I was preparing to make dinner and go to Pioneer Club.

Then I checked Facebook, and a school mama friend was offering two free tickets to the evening's Dodger game. I checked with Stace, and he was fine with me taking off for the evening.

The tickets were free because they were a gift to my pal Wendy's friend, and that lady couldn't use them. The ticket package even included preferred parking! And look where we were sitting - these were expensive seats.

I could have pinched myself all evening long - the Dodgers were winning big again, and finished the game 10-0, with a couple of home runs. Lots to cheer for.

It's fun seeing the Boys in Blue with fellow fan friends, to see their traditions. For Wendy, it's "helmet nachos," sold at special stands in souvenir Dodger helmets.

Violet and Cora were sad to see me leave at dinner time, but Cora very sweetly surprised me with a snack pack of M&Ms, peanuts, and a box of Cracker Jack. She wrote "Mom" on the ziplock bag. Thanks, Cora!

The highlight of the evening came in the 9th inning. With the Dodgers up by 10 runs, I remarked that we wouldn't get to see Dodger closer extraordinaire Kenley Jansen pitching. Closers come in at the end of a game when it's close, to maintain a slim lead.

But no sooner were the words out of my mouth, we heard his walkup music, Tupac's "California Love," blaring, and watched those bullpen doors open. We all cheered like crazy as Jansen loped toward the mound.








And then, a couple of batters in, a foul ball came off the bat of a San Diego Padre headed right for us. It bounced a few aisles in front of us, bounced again, and landed on my aisle a few feet to my left.

I quickly reached over and placed my hand on the ball, a precious souvenir from a season that has seen the Dodgers win a L.A.-record 104 games.

It was astounding to raise the ball to the cheers of scores of fans all around me, all looking and smiling and clapping.

I love how Wendy played with this photo - so cool.

It was an amazing night, and it all made the out-way-past-bedtime worth it.

The girls were just as excited the next morning when I told them the story and showed them my special souvenir. Violet even made sure we brought the ball to show our back-gate mama friends.