My Boys and Me

So as of about 11:30 pm last night, the Phillies baseball season is OVER! I’m not sure what makes me more sad, the fact that the Phillies were beaten out of the playoffs or seeing my sweet little Braeden cry as he watched the last out! This 8 year old kid lives and breathes baseball and is truly heartbroken. I also TREASURE the time spent with him watching the games. He knows what a treat it is for him to be able to stay up extra late. What he doesn’t know is that it is such a treat for ME too The snuggle time on the couch with him is priceless. We get SO into the games together. We scream and high-five after a good play and we both turn pale and quench our fists when the game gets intense. He is SO busy these days and almost impossible to pin down. I secretly LOVED hearing him tell his buddies he needed to go inside so he could shower and get ready to watch the game. Hey, the fact that the Phillies can pull Braeden away from his buddies and spend time with ME makes me love them even more- despite the outcome of these playoffs.

My sister, as she SO often does, pointed out the positive- that this was a great learning experience for Braeden who has many more years and increased competitiveness ahead of him in baseball. I thought about what she said, and it seemed fitting to point out to him at such a “down” moment how just 12 hours earlier, HE hit an awesome double to help his team come back in the last inning from a 4 run deficit and WIN the game.

To me, more important than winning or losing, has ALWAYS been HOW you play the game. It’s cliché I know, but Mike and I have both instilled in Braeden that he MUST exhibit good sportsmanship or he will NOT play, period! Last night the Phillies may have “lost” but they are, in my opinion, a fine example of good sportsmanship. I got chills watching the replay of Chase Utley (Braeden’s favorite baseball player) shrug off the Giant’s pitcher and turn around as he tried to “talk smack” to him. Not a bad guy to have as your son’s HERO The LACK of sportsmanship resulted in the Giant’s player and his manager being ejected from the game.

Anyway, as sad as we are about the loss, we will continue to love baseball and the Phillies and look forward to March when the Spring Training games begin.

Oh, and for the record, we are pulling for Texas in the World Series!