As some of my friends know, I have been kind of melancholy lately. It started with the end of the collegiate wood-bat season as my son was standing on deck while the kid ahead of him made the last out of the season. You might say no big deal. It was the last wood-bat game he was ever going to participate in at the collegiate level. This fall will be the last fall season he will have. Next spring will do it for his college baseball career. Without even considering whether or not my son can play past college, I have been thinking lots about last times. The last game as a 12 year old when he pitched his team to a championship on the last day of the season. The last time as a high school player when they lost a state playoff game where he led his team to the brink of a championship. The tears in his eyes even though he left everything on the field. He has had tears after every season in college even though by any stretch they have been wildly successful. This is a testament to how special the ride has been and how fast it goes. It can disappear in a heart beat. Never forget the last time.

Thanks for sharing CD. So true! The “last times” are special ---but so are the “first times”. My son ended his baseball career this spring. He called this 4th of July on his way to a lake house in the mountains of North Carolina. Lake Norman I think. He seemed very happy when he said this was the “first time” he has been able to go on a non-baseball vacation. He learned to water ski and ride a tube which he had never done in his previous 24 years. I have enjoyed this summer as much as any. No baseball trips after 20 years of carrying or following my son around. At last I can do some “other” things ---- or maybe I’ll just do nothing. Those times were special and I agree with you that we need to never forget the last times and enjoy them while they “are”. However the memories become sweeter with age.
Fungo

CD

I know exactly how you feel. This may or may not be our last year to be baseball parents and it does feel a little sad to see this ride come closer to an end but I try to remember how lucky we have been to have been on the ride this long.

Right now I find myself already wishing that the spring was here and yet once it comes I'll want it to slow down and last forever. There is a chance that the college experience could last another year as Joe could qualify for a medical hardship. It is feasible that he could find a grad school looking for someone but I really don't know if that is a direction he will want to pursue once he graduates.

Not only do I hope I never forget the last time, I truly hope I can remember the whole time.

What beautiful reminders guys about the first and the last! We so often forget to appreciate both sides of the equation, don't we! We're so blessed to have such wonderful opportunities that we hate to see end.... yet those endings bring us new beginnings and new opportunities if we allow them to do so.

May all those boys who will play their last year on a college field soak up every minute! Mom and dad too! Regardless of what the future holds baseball wise, those years have brought priceless experiences to always be treasured.

CD - You can cry here anytime and we'll hand ya a tissue! Tyler has had a college career that all parents would miss and he's proven himself on and off the field. What more could a parent ask for.

We're all so very blessed around here!

quote:

May all those boys who will play their last year on a college field soak up every minute! Mom and dad too! Regardless of what the future holds baseball wise, those years have brought priceless experiences to always be treasured.

Very true Charlotte! Very great, and very wonderful experiences. As I approach our first college year since my son's collegiate career has ended, I emailed another mom who is a friend of mine and told her "isn't it STRANGE for classes to be beginning today at PSU and neither Joe or Brian are THERE?!?!?" I also told her I think I am in a serious case of "denial" and truly WON'T acknowledge that fact until I see a player behind homeplate this spring that ISN't #25! Yes....denial is a wonderful thing!

But the GREAT thing is...I have some "special" guys from this thread that I WILL be following, which certainly helps fill the void!

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Originally posted by luvbb:

But the GREAT thing is...I have some "special" guys from this thread that I WILL be following, which certainly helps fill the void!

Honestly, I think as Fungo said, so much of how we adapt to changes (endings) is how we embrace what opportunities come our way. One of the good things I discovered this spring was being able to watch more baseball including friend's kids at all levels. I've gotten to do things I've wanted to for years!! Good things can happen!

CD and I were PM'ing about a week ago on this...it is amazing how time has flown...as it seems like yesterday we were engaging in a little "Liberty vs Coastal" trash talk in his son's freshman fall and wondering how it all will play out. CD's son is one who has worked his tail off to first get to where he wanted at a school...to working his tail off even harder to earn something not many freshman players get...and would not take "no" for an answer.

CD...and all the others gearing up for the "last time"...simply savor every moment you can this next year...and let the ride take you where it may.

Just to follow up on lafmom's comment, no crying or feeling sorry here. Gratitude is the word but good things seems to go by too quickly.

Fungo - we drive right through Lake Norman when we travel from Cleveland to Myrtle Beach. itsinthegame lives near there. It looks like one of the nicest areas in the country. I have always said it looks like the ideal water-skiing area. I can't recall a time we have driven by there and not seen several people out water-skiing. Also, FYI, it looks like a GREAT BASS fishing lake!

I dropped my son off yesterday about 1/2 hour away from home where he hopped a ride back to South Carolina with a teammate. That is the last Thanksgiving break while he is in college and soon he'll be home for his last college Christmas break.

We watched five Cavalier games together and spent much time with the larger family. He gained a few pounds while home so he was happy about that.

quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:

We watched five Cavalier games together and spent much time with the larger family. He gained a few pounds while home so he was happy about that.

Well, to not totally derail this topic.... what are you going to think if you see your guy LeBron play for Cleveland a "last time"? I don't know if that's a serious possibility or not, but certainly been in the rumor mill hasn't it.

DOn't know if this will be "the last" college year of ball, but I am going to enjoy each game as though they are. "Time flies" is such an understatement. Really looking forward to the holidays with "little puma" and then to a great spring season.

quote:

Originally posted by puma1:
DOn't know if this will be "the last" college year of ball, but I am going to enjoy each game as though they are. "Time flies" is such an understatement. Really looking forward to the holidays with "little puma" and then to a great spring season.

All the best to Nick this year!

Let the chips fall where they may