One Year Later

I got my notice from twitter that I signed up one year ago today.  Happy Birthday to me, I guess.

I browsed back through the columns I have written over the last year.  I found stuff written on the Boston Marathon and the Tsarnaev brothers.  I found stuff supporting people who had been blown away by nature's fury in Oklahoma and Illinois.  I found a couple of poignant articles aimed at coaching and being a parent of a player, and occasionally, just a parent.  I found some humor, some sarcasm, and some serious, heartfelt stuff, including a recent tribute to a couple of seniors from my children's school, Elkhart Christian Academy.

I'd like to think I'm a good writer, and I know I am a simple writer.  I tend to keep the prose short, and wax poetic on occasion.  My most read article was about a Little League coach who was leaving Little League and the legacy he leaves behind.  Part of that legacy is me...maybe that should automatically disqualify the word "Legacy."  The second most hits landed on an article about a brand new travel softball team playing it's first game against one of the best programs in the state, and the level of respect each one showed the other.  It is still one of my most treasured days as a coach.

A year ago, my son was preparing for some spring travel baseball, he now prepares for his first high school season.  My daughter prepares for another go through Little League with dad as her coach.  Heaven help us.  My wife prepares for another year in the stands, alone.  I actually sat with her for some basketball games while my daughter was cheerleading this winter.  Maybe she'd like it better alone.

I will still be working when my son plays, but my focus changes to the microphone and providing public address.  I have done this for years, and have done it professionally for our minor league baseball team during the first Clinton Administration.  I've become the "Voice of the Eagles" for everything except Boy's Basketball.  I hope I add to what the kids do, and, just maybe, make it more fun.

I will be managing my daughter's Little League team.  Assessments are this weekend, and I will be interested to see what kind of team I'll have.  I know this: I will have a lot of teaching for this group.  I know we'll have some fun.

My wife is really only interested in baseball and softball because her children play.  She'll find some kindred souls in the stands.  She always does, even though she rarely says much.  It's God's way of taking care of her while I grouse in the dugout.

We'll try this again.  At some point, it will be over.  I's not very far away.

So...am I off base?