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There’s No Cryin’ in Baseball

There’s no cryin’ in baseball

– Tom Hanks’ character in  A League of Their Own.

There we were, Empty Nesters, with a young puppy, standing on the fields where our son had played baseball, starting with T-ball until he went to play in high school. I was moved by the realization that we were now the spectators. I was no longer the mother of the lefty pitcher, “the tall one” and the all star. I watched my devoted baseball husband standing calmly with the dog, watching the young boys practice. It brought back a flood of  fond memories of sitting on the paint chipped wooden benches in those stands and watching our son Nick play.

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It seemed that we spent every waking moment for 14 years at the baseball field and 14 years is a very long time.

My husband Craig enjoyed every single one of his baseball “jobs”. He was everything from a T-ball coach, a manager, a coach and for two years even the Little League president. When Nick began playing for the high school team, Craig hung up his cleats and his final job was sitting in the stands with me and he enjoyed every single morsel of that experience as well. Through the years he prepped the fields, cleaned the snack shack, cheered the teams and threw hundreds of batting practices. That bright-orange clay baseball field dirt still lingers in our garage.

At the end of Nick’s last high school season, I joked with the other baseball moms that we should each choose a kindergarten baseball player and follow his career. We could then relive our experience all over again… Not really, but these moments with our kids are so poignant and special – you sometimes wish you could go back.

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“Senior Day” – Nick’s last day in baseball.

Our children choose a sport or an activity and as parents we dive in and support what they do unconditionally.

I can see your heads nodding now.

We spend countless hours devoted to their passion and we would not have changed anything. I imagine ALL of you have stories to tell of the big game that was won or lost, the broken bones, endless practices or the role in the musical when she was the STAR! Sound familiar?

How is it that our kids have aged 18 years, but we still feel the same?

On Saturday, we took our puppy Rocco for a long walk and ended up at the baseball fields. Rocco is 8 months now and there has not been baseball activity on the fields where we usually walk until just recently. The baseball season has begun and we unexpectedly walked in to a time warp of sorts.

I was a bit wistful and sad – I can’t deny that – but I know that this was just part of our journey and those memories of the days of baseball are always there for us to reflect upon.

What do you remember from those days when the kids were younger?

I hope that you will share it with the rest of us.

As the umpire says: Play ball!

Read more from Suzanne Stavert on her blog Adventures of Empty Nesters

 

Suzanne Stavert

I am eager to help bring together a tremendous community of Empty Nesters, Almost Empty Nesters and anything in between! I share tales of triumph, words of wisdom and my search for delicious food and amazing destinations. I welcome “Guest Adventurers” to share their stories as well! We are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary this year and have two amazing kids, Alexandra, 26 and Nicholas, 21. I love traveling, cooking, restaurants, flowers, exercising, photography and reading ~ in no particular order. Instagram: suzannestavert

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Lana

Tuesday 17th of June 2014

My older son was a hockey player, and I spent SO many hours at the cold ice rink watching him practice and play. I enjoyed most of it, but there were times I couldn't wait to be done! Now that he has graduated and stopped playing, I do miss watching him play. He keeps telling me he's going to join a men's league, so maybe my ice hockey days aren't over yet!

Suzanne Stavert

Tuesday 17th of June 2014

Lana: It's amazing how quickly our perspective changes when we don't have access to something anymore. Do I miss driving to baseball tournaments? No, but If I could go back every once in awhile to relive a game of his, I would do it in a minute! It sounds like maybe you might get a little hockey time after all!

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