Like Rachel and Ross

Ever been in a relationship that just didn't meet your needs, that was, for that moment, so fundamentally unsatisfying that you viewed it with an aching bleakness?

And then, like Rachel and Ross on TV's "Friends," you had to step away. Regain some perspective. Guard your sanity.

Like Rachel and Ross, the Astros and I are on a break, starting yesterday. (It won't last long, I have tickets to next Friday's game against the Reds--hee!) I do receive post-game alerts, so I will know if they win or lose, but I'm not going to watch any of the games nor spend--or waste, some would say--parts of my day reading about all the ins and outs of each game and each player's performance and stats.

I know that May is traditionally the club's worst month, that they are generally a second-half team, that we are still in much better shape than last year. I know all that.

But for the first time in a long time (even before last year's awful start), Astros' baseball just depresses me.

Someone at work today said, "So. . . does that mean you can go with another team, if you're on a break?" (Of course it was a guy, jokingly referencing Ross's liaison on the TV show.) I actually contemplated the idea for a moment, as the concept was pretty amusing. But I quickly discarded the thought--for one, what team would I "go with"?

The Cardinals? (Hell no, they're playing the 'Stros this week and I may need a break but that would be like going out with my boyfriend's brother or something.)

The Cubs? (Oh hell, no. Talk about depressing.)

The Mets?! (Not even EFFING going there.)

And anyway, in addition to not wanting to "go with" another team, I think I just need a break over all. I want to have a little absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder action. I want to look forward to the drive to Houston next Friday, to feel that acceleration of my heart rate as I settle into my seat and study the lineups, to gasp and sigh with glee at the sound of an Astros' bat making contact with the ball. Not to sound too freakish here (too late!), but I want the romance back with my team.

Here's hoping this little break is just the medicine I need.