This has been a strange spring so far.
Mother Nature doesn't seem to understand my need for warm rays and blue skies, instead sending a foot of snow just the other day.
Luckily, I have plenty of sunshine in my soul, thanks to baseball.
Or, as my little 5-year-old son is always correcting me, "T-ball, Mommy!"
His first season of organized sports has been a joyous one, full of eager kids piled over a rolling ball, of parents alternately shouting encouragement and convulsing with laughter, of 5-year-old sluggers connecting with a good solid hit and then taking off — for third base.
Like any other baseball game, it's also got food; specifically, a snack shack that dispenses cold drinks, hot burgers and a free frozen treat to every T-baller at the end of each three-inning game.
That got me thinking about what my mind has been calling "baseball food" — the stuff that makes slow innings go faster and fast innings go better.
Arenas for all sports feature a real variety of food options these days. This past season at several BYU basketball games we attended, our family enjoyed everything from Mexican food to BYU Creamery Burnt Almond Fudge ice cream.
Our favorites, however, continue to be the classics. Hot dogs grilled and dressed from a condiment bar, crunchy nachos with sticky cheese sauce and sliced jalapeños, foil-lined packets of soft, fresh Big League Chew shredded bubble gum.
And, thanks to going to countless baseball games at every level with my dad, I am unable to really feel a game is complete without a bag of peanuts. We pass them around, suck the salt off each shell, crack 'em open with our teeth and devour the contents, all the while talking about the game and washing everything down with something cold and fizzy.
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks? I really, truly, don't care if I ever go back.
Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret News.