There are things in this post that could be taken seriously and you could accuse me of being a horrible person. Please understand, they are meant as a joke. I would never steal a child, nor do I encourage you to.

Tonight I went to a Hudson Valley Renegades game. The ‘Gades are a local minor league team that feeds into the Tampa Bay Rays. Established 1994.

I remember going to these games with my friend Rachel when we were teenagers. Her dad would get 6 tickets from IBM (who he works for) several times a summer. Rachel and her sister would each get to bring a friend, plus their parents went. I would go at least once a year. I’ve also been with Rachel and Eric, before they got married. And Mark and I have gone together a couple times.

There are always lots of kids there. The cheapest seats right now are $6 each, and it’s a great family night out. Rachel and Eric used to joke around about the cutest little ones, with Eric telling her, “You distract the parents, I’ll grab the kid and run.” Obviously they never intended on actually kidnapping anyone, but I guess that was their way of showing that they both want kids some day. Particularly cute ones.

So now whenever I go to the games, I can’t help but think about which kids I would most want to kidnap (again, this is meant in jest and should not be frowned on or taken seriously in any way). I love the toddler boys in baseball hats. I love the little girls in pretty sundresses. I love watching the 7-12 year olds with their gloves hoping to catch a fly ball… or to get one that is tossed into the stands. Tonight I also had my eye on a girl in a pony tail and a pink Ariel (Disney’s Little Mermaid) cap, and another one in a pink and lemon yellow striped dress.

Some day Mark and I will bring our own kids to the games, and I would be honored if somewhere, a lovestruck young couple were to talk about fake-kidnapping my children. Just as long as nobody ever really does it, they can talk about it all they want.