Welcome to Cozy Poetry Corner by Debra A Winter (Richter)

“Life on the Diamond”

Did you know life is like baseball? We have a home base plate, which is our home, and the utilities are the three bases.

Most days, we start at home plate, tapping the dust off our shoes, hoping the pitcher (life) throws something easy our way. But life rarely does. Instead, it winds up and sends a fastball straight at our wallet, and we’re forced to swing at the ball (bill), ready or not.

First base is electricity. The base we sprint to when the lights flicker or the fridge hums a little too loudly. Some months we slide in safe within seconds to spare; other months we’re tagged out by a surprise bill that came out of nowhere.

Second base is natural gas, the one that always feels just a little too far away. Winter makes that base look like it’s halfway across the outfield, and we run toward it praying the price per therm doesn’t jump and catch before we get there.

Third base is water, steady but sneaky. It waits until the middle of the night to remind us that pipes age, faucets drip, and nothing in this game stays new forever.

And then there’s home plate; the place we’re always trying to get back to. The place where the score doesn’t matter as much as the warmth, the safety, and the people waiting for us in the dugout. The place where we catch our breath before the next inning begins.

There are short innings. Some feel endless. Others we strike out three times in a row. Only a few times we may hit a clean single and feel like a champ.

But no matter how many curveballs life throws, we keep stepping up to the plate. We keep trying to make that home run swing. And keep running the bases, even when our legs are so tired. And we see the scoreboard isn’t in our favor. As our life depends on surviving for our family that we love.

Because by the end of the day; it is gratifying knowing you still have a home worth coming home to. The home is safe and still standing no matter how the game was won.