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Monday, July 12, 2010

Tears in the outfield...

He sat hunched over Indian style on a small dirt mound just outside of the dugout. His arms sat folded on his dusted baseball jersey and the lid of his hat sat covering his eyes. They were tear stained. I stood only a few feet away acknowledging his feelings and thought of how to best approach. You see, the events of the past few minutes had changed the course of his "what-was-to-be." Knowing this, I could only think of what shouldn't.

His "what-should-have-been" consisted of a win taking his team to the championship game. What shouldn't have been was a team of eight and nine year old trembling youths standing snot nosed before me. Sure they'd lost the game but so what, there would be other games next year. Sure their season had ended and their expectations failed to meet fruition, but I say verily unto you...so what again! The lesson all of my kids learned that day was not about winning and loosing, nor was it about dusting yourself off after a loss. The lesson they learned that day had in fact nothing to do with baseball at all.

Friends, what those kids witnessed that day was nothing short of a travesty. It was a day filled with an assorted display of what-not-to-do's by their own coaching staff. It was what caused my son's reaction and that of his teammates. It was watching one of their assistant coaches curse and threaten the umpire after a bad call. A mistake of drastic proportions that then followed suit with head coach being dismissed as well. This left another coach and myself there to lift the chins and wipe the noses (not in my job description) of the lifeless players. Talk about a son watching his dad converse with the police across the field while at bat... then talk about tears in the outfield. Wait...there's no crying in baseball! Well I guess it is when it's not about baseball and it's not a game anymore.

As we headed home that evening and my son lay prostrate in the back seat of the car, they learned that lesson. Every minute of it was spent explaining that in life bad calls happen all the time but...so what! Your reaction and the way in which you conduct yourselves after said "bad call" is what keeps all the "what-should-be's" away! And as my son learned, those "be's" sting worst than the real ones!

To read more please be sure to purchase a copy of my soon to be published book chronicling my life as a single father. Also, feel free to donate toward its costs if you so choose by clicking the donate button @ http://chroniclesofasinglefather.blogspot.com. Thanks for taking this journey with me.
Miracles and Blessings
Tron

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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