I anticipated DEATH ...

I've been away for the past few months.
I've not been doing anything life shattering.
Just living.
Just cherishing.
Just taking in every moment

with THIS BOY.

I've been anticipating what the spring of 2010 would bring...
for I knew it would surely kill me.

Yet, here I am.
I am not dead.
I am very much alive.
I am HAPPY!
And I have learned one truth, a truth
I wish I'd known before the Spring of 2010:

"The ANTICIPATION of doing something hard is, almost always, far worse than the REALITY of it."

The anticipation and dread of
Tyson's Senior
Year of BASEBALL
has haunted me.

I sobbed that first opening day
but, surprisingly, not since.

For baseball of 2010
quickly became less about
the game and more about life.

And we had the honor of watching a boy...
Our Boy
grow into a man right before our very eyes.

During the Spring of 2010 he learned:

...to adapt.
...to accept change.
...to lead through example.
...to relish moments,
not seasons.
...to love the TEAM more
than himself.

By the time the season ended
LIFE was different.

For you see, the boy
who walked on the field
that cold day in March
was not walking off it
in the warmth of May.
Walking off it was ... a man.

A MAN who'd learned...
Hitting a home run isn't nearly as fun as cheering for a team mate who'd just hit one for the first time.


A MAN who'd learned...
It's not the end of the world if you get picked off at 2nd. Life will go on.

A MAN who'd learned...
No ONE person can take the blame for a loss or the credit for a win.


A MAN who'd learned...
The players on the other team are not the enemy. They're just regular guys, trying to do their best.


A MAN who'd learned...
Heavenly Father is really in charge of the game and can do more with it that you ever could.

A MAN who'd learned...
He had fans who were always there. Not because he played baseball but because they simply loved him.


A MAN who'd learned...
Coaching is his ultimate dream and what he aspires to do because of good men whom he has called "Coach".

A MAN who'd learned...
Winning isn't the best part of baseball, the best part is just being able to play even though sometimes it rains.

A MAN who'd learned...
His biggest fan has always been the one who sleeps in room next door and nothing will ever change that.

A MAN who'd learned...
Baseball really never mattered to the two who were always in the stands. He was the one who mattered, it was never about the game.

Together, we walked off the field that warm day in May 2010
having laughed much...

having cried much...
having smiled much...
having appreciated much...
and having learned that...
life would only get

MUCH

better from here.