Angel in the infield.

I stand on home plate in the Diabetes Stadium every day…taking whatever diabetes can throw at me. I stand knees slightly bent, hands choked up on the bat, and I swing my heart out over and over, hoping to hit that ball to the moon.

Some days I am completely focused, I have my eye on the ball and I smack that ball again and again…homerun after homerun. Other days, it’s hit or miss. I’ll get a double or two, but mostly singles with the occasional strike out. On my bad days I close my eyes and swing the bat like I’m swatting a swarm of bees. I’m clumsy, exhausted and miss most of what I swing at.

But I don’t stop swinging. Stopping is not an option on this field. That would be letting this visitor win, and I refuse to let that happen while I’m up to bat.

So I swing with all my heart, and hope for the best. I can’t let my team down.

You might wonder how I find the strength to keep swinging. How can I do it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no seventh inning stretch to rest my weary arms?

There is an easy answer for that.

I have a pinch hitter, silly. And her name is Lisa.

Lisa is my sister in law, and when I get exhausted and just can’t swing anymore, she effortlessly takes my spot and swings like a pro. She is on the sidelines every minute of the day, always ready and willing to step up to bat. She never has hesitation. Her answer is always, “I am ready when you need me.”

Enough of the baseball. My brain hurts.

She takes the kids almost every Saturday. Yup, my husband and I go out almost every weekend. And she knows what to do! She absorbs all the information my hurty brain can spit out and never needs clarification. She gets it, and she is up for the task.

But it goes so much further than that. She’ll pick the boys up after School for me. She picks the boys up before school once a week to have breakfast at their Omi’s house. She takes them out to eat. She carpools when I need an extra person. She volunteers in their classrooms; she goes on fieldtrips with their class. She bakes with them. She reads to them. She takes them on bike rides and walks to pick berries. She’ll take them overnight so my hubby and I can get away. She has sat through more bad music concerts and plays than she can shake a stick at. She just isn’t afraid to take over their care.

I often throw information at her and then give her a long look of, "I'm asking too much of you." And she'll always smile and say, "I'm not scared." She is a second mother to the boys, and when I leave them with her, my brain can shut down…my arms can rest so to speak, and I know that my boys will be safe and taken care of.

Is there any better gift?

I always tell her thank you, but it is such a joke. She deserves so much more than a thank you; she deserves some kind of Medal of Honor or something.

An example of her stellar performance is this last Saturday. As Ryan and I were walking out of Iron Man 2, I gave her a ring.

“J is throwing up” she says.

“We are on our way.” I say.

“No!” she says, “It’s going to be a long night for you, go to dinner, or go home and take a nap…I got this.”

Hello!! Best pinch hitter EVER!

She gives me the time to rest so that when it is my time up at bat, I am at my best.

My husband is amazing.

My mother in law is phenomenal.

My mother is awesome.

Lisa is my angel.

Thank you Lisa for all you do! Without you, our team wouldn’t stand a chance.

Love ya psycho SIL!