Rained Out

I remember the days when sometimes it felt like a grind.  There were days when you just didn’t want to go to practice or a game.  There were days when you took it for granted.  Some days, it just wasn’t fun.

It was 6:45 AM yesterday morning, Lefty’s uniform was ready, his personal clubbie (me) did a fantastic job getting his pants back to bright white.  His bag was packed and the team bus (Nissan Xterra) was scheduled to leave for the game at 7:30 for the 8:15 report time.  I heard the rain when I woke up and knew it was not a good sign.  By 7:05, texts and emails confirmed that the game was cancelled.

Lefty woke at 7:30 and my wife and I could hear the happy footsteps in his room as he prepared his morning pregame ritual.  Before he had a chance to literally jump into his uniform, my wife entered his room and informed him of the game cancellation.  I could hear the disappointment in his voice as he asked why.

As I listened to the sorrowful conversation, I could not help but appreciate the desire of an 8-year-old to just play.  I hope he always has this joy of playing the game.  I know there will be those days when it feels like a grind and he may even be happy for the occasional rain out.  But for the most part, I hope he puts on the spikes and goes out and appreciates playing the game he loves.