Been having a cruddy coupla weeks at work.

Haven't been playing in the sandbox well with others.

Many mentions in the office about my "attitude".

Hmmmmm.

Thought it was time for a self-imposed attitude adjustment, so I made my way out to the Washington Special Olympics Summer Sports Classic and photographed the finals of the softball tournament.

I found what I was looking for. A reminder that just because I want to do my best work doesn't mean I have to flagellate myself to the point of making myself and my teammates at work miserable.

And that any day taken too seriously is a day wasted.

The players I watched played hard and had fun hard. They listened to their coaches and followed instructions to play the game the right way.

Mike Lyngstad of Spokane tags out Davey Gonzales of the Lake Stevens during the final inning on a double-play:

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIN, EF 300mm f2.8 lens, ISO 200, 1/1000 sec, f2.8)

Robin Ainsworth, a player on the Spokane team that won the Masters 3 Level of the tournament, celebrates after the final out. Her team, the CCS Spokane Sasquatches defeated the Lake Stevens Vikings, 7-4.

(Canon EOS 1D Mark IIn, EF 16-35mm/f2.8 lens @ 35mm, ISO 200, 1/640 sec., f4.0)

"We won! We won! Finally! After three years!" yelled Ainsworth after the final out. Spokane had finished second for the previous two years before prevailing in their third try for the title.

After the final out of a taut, 7-4 victory, the Sasquatches tossed hats and gloves in the air and celebrated.

I sought out my boss today and pledged to work hard, have fun, and to play the game the right way.