This weekend has been a weekend full of a game that I grew up playing and a game I learned a lot of life lessons in, baseball. One of my best friends, Scotty Lawson, came down for a tournament with his team and we spent a few days catching up and talking. Crystal and I went to see one of the games he was coaching and had a great time. Then of course the Missions baseball game where they won in the bottom of the ninth with a walk off squeeze bunt. All of this wonderful baseball activity had a few things in common, but one of my most prided things was my hat. You see I got this Ranger's hat last year on Father's Day when Jeremiah treated his mom and I to a Ranger's game. I haven't been to a game in so long it felt great to be at the field.
When it comes to baseball there is one thing many people don't understand unless they played ball themselves. Like the one conversation players have amongst themselves at some point in their career, usually when their older. The conversation of, "man when I'm coaching my kid I'm going to ______" fill in the blank. Of course I did this many of times with the different friends I came across my 17 years of playing ball. I always said I'd teach my son to play hard and know no matter what you left everything on the field. Of course fundamentals too! I had a type of conversation like this with Scotty this weekend talking about having a healthy enough arm to throw to our kids when we have them. All of these dreams and excitement I had about baseball and sharing it with Jeremiah made me so happy just thinking about it.
So, going to these games and parks now without him makes me thing about what would have been. How I would be the dad with his son on his shoulders trying to get a foul ball for him. And the dad protecting him and his mommy when a foul ball comes flying over us even though I knew it wasn't coming anywhere near us when I saw it off the bat, but of course Crystal would freak out. And the dad holding the son while a coach hands him a foul ball cause Jeremiah is so cute in his baseball outfit he would of definitely been wearing.
I know I won't be able to do these things with Jeremiah or Elijah now, but when it comes to Father's Day I love the idea of going to a baseball game for it. Not just because I love the game so much, but because I know if I did have my boys here with me that is exactly where I would want to be with them.
Always loved, never forgotten.
