This is the 45th summer of my life. And it’s easily the toughest.
This May, the guy who gave me the love of baseball and taught me the game, passed away.
Things like death have a way of turning your world upside down in unexpected moments. You think that life will go on as you know it indefinitely. It will not.
The guy who passed away happened to be my best friend. But perhaps his favorite title was that of father. My dad. He taught me a lot more than baseball but that was a love we shared.
I’ve struggled to find words to express how much he meant to me and I’ve concluded; they don’t exist. My advice to my friends is the same. Take that trip, have that conversation, have that lunch that you’ve been putting off. While it won’t make the sting of death any less, it can make the healing process slightly better.
Life, as in baseball, has it’s good and bad days that seem to follow one another. Dad reminded me time and time again to keep my eyes looking forward and hoping for the best.
That’s pretty good advice.