“The honorary Stepford Wife”

Just this week my sister launched her new and improved website – finally.  In said website, she wrote the blog “The Campins Cast of ‘Characters.’”  Here is her description of me:  “The youngest of the Campins women and undoubtedly the one who is always right – just ask her. As an agent of the Campins Company, her tenacity is a cornerstone of her expertise and success. But as my sister and the honorary Stepford Wife, it’s almost guaranteed that we will be on opposing teams… hers naturally including Sofia.”

Although I could easily tell you how I am always right, I thought it would be more interesting to explore the “Stepford Wife.”  Shall we?  As I prepared to write this, I actually googled Stepford Wife.  C’mon, who doesn’t do a little good ‘ol research on google?  Anyway, much to my surprise, I discovered the Stepford Wives Organization at http://stepfordwives.org.   Wow!  There is actually a Stepford Wives organization.  Where can I sign up?  Ok, let’s be honest, this website sounds more like a parody than a legit organization, but the more I read through it, the more I really wanted to apply.  😉

There are a few statements straight from the Stepford Wives Organization of which I 100% agree. Those, I have listed below.  I also enjoyed several hilarious proclamations (that I may or may not disagree with – plead the 5^th?), such as: “Stepford Wives Organization believes that as women, we should regard and revere our husband’s decisions as the final, penultimate authority in our lives. Our husbands are our fashion advisors: they decide what we wear. They are our food critics: they tell us what we cook well and what we should and should not cook. They are our political advisors: they decide how we should vote. They are our intellectual guides: they tell us what and how we should think.”  Ok, clearly I do not believe that…or do I?

Moving on to the undeniable truths:

Stepford Wives Organization celebrates the male as head-of-our-household, and the traditional family unit. We believe the traditional family is still a good, sound idea that can be brought into this modern day and age alongside new living arrangements.

Stepford Wives Organization is a website that supports the idea of the homemaking wife who is not only the cheery domestic goddess, but a fantastic dresser, neat as a pin, a lady with good manners, and a gracious, well-behaved, obedient wife who always puts her man first.

Stepford Wives Organization supports and promotes the Stay-At-Home-Mother.

Stepford Wives Organization celebrates the good housekeeping days of the 1950s.

Stepford Wives Organization believes our men are No.1. They are our protector, our knights, and, in Helen B. Andelin’s words, “The kingpin around which all other activities of our lives revolve.” (That is, until we have children.  At that point, be happy as No. 2 thank you very much).

I will continue perusing that site a little later, but now I must address the seriousness of being a housewife.   Really, I’m serious.   If you have read my blog from day one you already know I am an alumna of the University of Miami.   You would also know that I worked at my alma mater for nearly three years after my graduation and that I have also been a licensed realtor in the state of Florida since eighteen.  It goes without saying that by twenty-five I know what it’s like to be employed, an independent contractor and also unemployed.

This past year was the first since I was seventeen that I have been jobless.  The interesting thing, however, is that I am not actually “jobless.”  This is my first off-season as a “housewife.”  That being said, I have never been busier!   I am constantly maintaining the house, taking care of the husband and tending to our animals.  When it comes to taking care of the husband, 75% of that involves his belly.   I don’t know what the average husband eats in a day but I can tell you mine doesn’t stop.  For the first time in my life, I am cooking three times a day.    Wait a second; let me correct that last statement.   For the first time in my life, I am cooking.   I have never really cooked prior to this year.  Sure, I could fry an egg or throw some chicken in the oven (all things I don’t even eat anymore), but I have never proudly prepared recipes that I could share with the family.

I may not be employed or have a 9 to 5, but I don’t stop.    I spend every waking minute taking care of my family.   Even though we don’t have children yet (there goes my life as I know it) and my family consists of a husband and four animals, I am happier than I have ever been.   Now that David is done with baseball and working out again, we wake up at the crack of dawn and get back home in the early afternoon.  Yes, I work out with him.  No, we are not attached at the hip.  Well, possibly at the ramus superior.   Nevertheless, once we are home, I get right back to cooking.   It can be a lot of work but I am thoroughly enjoying it.    Mostly because it makes my husband happy, and who doesn’t love making their man happy?

As if the cooking wasn’t enough to keep me busy, I also happen to be a clean freak.  Having three cats and a dog doesn’t exactly make keeping the house clean an effortless job, yet somehow, I manage.   I try to do a little cleaning everyday, with a deep clean once a week.    As a homebody, my home is my sanctuary and if it’s a mess, I simply can’t relax.    I am pretty sure I do not suffer from OCD, however.  Not in the clinical sense, anyway.

I may be sounding anti-feminist right about now, but I do have a lot of respect for women who work.   Obviously there is a difference between the women who have to work for their own livelihood and that of their family’s, to those who choose to work despite not having to.  Those women, I don’t understand.   😉

Alrighty then, I am done.  Back to the best job ever – being a submissive housewife.

Home sweet (home)

Well, we lost.   That is, the Trenton Thunder lost.   It was a tough Championship series and we just couldn’t pull through and win three out of five.   The loss was emotional for most because it meant going home.  It meant leaving new friends and a team that we may never play with again.    The moment we lost it was time to close another chapter in our book and open a new one.   Time to move forward.

Once we got back to the apartment we started packing immediately in order to get on the road the next day.   After a few hours of sleep and many last minute details to take care of, we finally left Pennsylvania at 11 AM.   I jumped in the SUV with our three cats and pup while David followed behind me in the car.  Yes, that’s right, we had to drive two cars all the way back to Miami.   After two days of driving we made it back in one piece and began settling in.  We are getting comfortable back home, albeit, David will be leaving for Arizona before we know it.  In the meantime, we are trying to enjoy the time we have in Miami before he has to get back to playing baseball.

Hour one of our drive down to Miami with Charlie as my CoPilot.

Since being an athlete is a year round job, despite what others think, David and I got right to working out again.   When athletes aren’t in season, they are working hard at getting in tip top shape in order to start the next season stronger than ever and David is no different.   We went back to working out at My Speed Trainer in Broward County with David’s long time trainer Ed Winslow.   MST is where he does all his speed, agility and lifting.  Part of our days also include going to the baseball field to work on hitting and fielding.   The reality is, an athlete has no time to rest.   The off-season is not a vacation; it is another grind.    The nice thing about the time away from playing everyday is that you get to take a day or two off every week, like a normal person, and you also get to see your family.  These are things that are very scarce during the season.

David (Left) and Ed Winslow (Right) at MST after their workout Day 1.

That’s all for now, but I will touch base once I am in Arizona with the Hubs.

Adios.

CCA

Struggles down the stretch

It’s Monday, September 10^th and it’s a travel day. The Trenton Thunder won the first series of the post season in four games against the Reading Phillies and, I am not trying to jinx us, but we are now three wins away from becoming AA Eastern League Champions. It has been a very long season full of ups and downs, nevertheless, the Thunder have been at the forefront of a grueling race to the finish.

After what seemed like endless struggles in the last few weeks of the regular season, many doubted whether we would beat the Phillies AA Affiliate and advance to the Championship game. Not only did we beat the Phillies, we did it with three straight wins after a very close loss in game one. Truth be told, there was not a single game in the series that was easy to sit through. All four were nail biters and games 2 and 3 were won in the very last two innings. Good matchups, they sure were.

Interestingly enough, the struggles the team endured down the stretch echo those of David’s. Two years ago when the Thunder made it to the postseason he had to watch from home as the team fell short. I never realized this was even a concern of David’s until this year when it was brought to my attention, by none other than, the media. Watching and not being able to help the team as they lost was one of the hardest things he has done throughout his baseball career. As a wife, I can actually say that I know a bit too much about feeling helpless.

I have learned so much about the intricacies of baseball this year, but one of the hardest things I have had to learn is how to cope through the ups and downs. David came back this year with a testy ankle, just hoping to be able to play everyday without lingering pain. While I can say that the first few months were nerve racking I think it’s safe to say we are past the ankle issues. Now, however, those nerves have transferred to other aspects of his game. This is something I work daily on for the simple fact that worrying helps absolutely nothing.

When David was a junior in college he experienced one of the worst slumps in this baseball career, one, that unfortunately spilled over into his first year playing professional ball. He had a lot of kinks to workout of his swing and he eventually got past them in a big way going into 2009. It was incredibly rewarding seeing David’s hard work pay off, allowing him to play well enough that year in Low-A to earn a promotion to Hi-A mid year. It was a good season overall, one he could be proud of. When 2010 rolled around it was as if David never lost a beat, he started the year in AA and managed to play as well as we could’ve hoped. A mere 39 games into the season, though, everything came to a screeching halt.

I have told the story of David’s injury many times with details of the two years he lost trying to recover but we are well past that now. He and I both feel that he is in a great place mentally, physically and spiritually and that everything happened the way it was meant to happen. We are very fortunate to have a relationship with God and as such have accepted this fate. I am extremely happy to say that we are at peace with everything that has transpired and that David will never blame his struggles on the “ill fortune” of the past.

Despite all the ups and downs he has experienced at the plate, David managed to end his year with a .306/.385/.450 slash line. Sure, those numbers look good on paper, but it has been extremely hard to watch from the stands. I am proud of what David has been able to accomplish this season, but I think he and I – along with everyone who has witnessed his career from the start – would agree that he is capable of far greater production. Nonetheless, this year has been a learning experience and now we are nearing the time where we must move forward and strive for greater things in the future.

One of David’s three hits all postseason. Fortunately he was clutch when the team needed him most. I am so grateful he was able to come through in this 1-4 outing. Not his best, but he did enough to help the team win.

Going into the postseason David has undeniably struggled at the plate.  Up until this point I never paid much attention to the details of every single game he played.  I find that the more aware I am of the daily happenings, the harder the difficult times are to bare witness to.   Then I remember this is a game of failure. It’s expected to have these struggles and even the best go cold once in a while. All I can hope for is that he adjusts what is not working for him and becomes comfortable enough again to do what he has always done best – hit. So while David isn’t the flashiest hitter – he doesn’t hit a lot of homeruns – he prides himself in hitting for average and drawing a good amount of walks.

As we go into the last series of the season, the one that means the most, I pray that he finds the clarity necessary to help his team win a championship. It’s been a long time coming and it is the Thunder’s time to shine.

Arizona, here come the Adams Family. (Feel free to snap)

Wow, I cannot believe the season is almost over.   It feels like just yesterday that the zoo and I made the 18-hour trip up the east coast.   With only a few games left of the Minor League regular season, we are no longer counting months or weeks, rather, we are now counting days.   Fortunately for us, the Trenton Thunder clinched a spot in playoffs – we actually won our division tonight! – postponing our trip home until further notice.

At this point I haven’t even started packing because there is still so much that is unknown. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding the end of the season, one thing I do know for sure is that David’s baseball season will not be ending any time soon. It has officially been announced (since you are privy to this information I am open to writing about it) that he will be one of the players to represent the Yankees in the Arizona Fall League. David and I haven’t discussed it in detail but I overheard he will be playing with the Scottsdale Scorpions.  I can be a bit oblivious sometimes but apparently, an invitation to the AFL is an honor, so while I would love to have him home those two months in the off-season, I am very excited for him.

This is totally irrelevant to anything manly but I’m excited about their colors. I love black and red combo, plus I can wear my Miami Heat gear and still match! 😉

When we first discussed our plans for the fall, I thought it best to move back home to Miami and wait out his return to Florida in November.  I am not sure if this has something to do with the two full moons that just occurred this month (yes, you read that correctly, TWO!! How cool!!! Aug 31 was a BLUE MOON!!!), but I have decided I just can’t be away from David that long.   Had we spoken a few years ago I would’ve told you I could easily survive the six weeks apart without a hitch, but I have become increasingly attached to being together – A fact that is kind of crazy considering we are celebrating 11 years of being together in October while being married less than two.  After that many years of dating, celebrating two anniversaries is in order, that is, until I start feeling really old.   Anyyy who, we usually spend several weeks apart every month during the season and that is hard enough as is.  Given my feelings as of late I can’t bear the thought of enduring six full weeks of a 2300-mile divide.

That being said, I have decided to spend AT LEAST two weeks in Arizona.  I can neither confirm nor deny that I will be there for more than two weeks as I am not sure of the details just yet, but I will be taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity.   In my 25 years of existence, I have visited much of the east coast, but I have barely seen any of what the western states have to offer.   I have heard that Arizona is beautiful so I am going to try and get the most out of my stay.   I fully plan on documenting my experiences in order to share it with all of my readers.  Hopefully I will have a lot of interesting information to write about.

Trenton Thunder fierce Cloud and Lightning bolt. Love this logo!

For now, we are focusing on winning the Eastern League Championship so we can pop some champagne.   In a matter of a few hours a lot of interesting moves have occurred now that September 1 call-ups are in effect.  With both the Trenton Thunder (AA) and the Empire State Yankees (AAA) in playoffs, we’ve had a TON of minor league movement.   Contrary to a lot of speculation, the Yankees do care about their minor league affiliates and they are making all the necessary moves to put a ring on it.   Although we will miss several of the regular starters headed to AAA, I am excited to see how the team will blend together with many young new faces in the line up.  Hopefully next time I write I can report that we have won!   Zipping my mouth until then in hopes that I don’t jinx anything.   After all, baseball is riddled with superstitions!

GOOOOOOOOO YANKEES!!!!!!