Another round of kids who are about to start their next chapter are cycling through here on HSBBW and this year my kid is one of them. This chapter for him happens to begin at a 4-year college (starting in less that a month and a half) and I find myself in an interesting frame of mind as it pertains to baseball. I simply will be fine with whatever happens. Gone are the feelings of baseball being a dominant part of his identity and an absolutely essential part of our lives. He's becoming his own man and it's fun to watch. He's going away knowing he will have to compete for playing time; and it won't be an easy competition while juggling all of the other aspects of being away from home, trying to achieve academically, and with the uncertainty that comes from returning from injury/surgery. He has persevered through quite a few challenges and I wouldn't be surprised if this was another one. I'm certain that as he has matured, so have we as parents and the result of that is a calm desire to watch him pursue his goals and his happiness, albeit from mostly afar, whatever that ends up looking like. If he gets some starts behind the dish then great, I'll be there. If not, and baseball isn't in the picture for him this time next year, or the year after that, then it's been a great run. I'm actually more excited about some of the other things he has on the roadmap than I am about baseball, but don't tell anyone.
I'm wondering if anyone else has felt similarly? Maybe it's because I got used to feeling on the outside during his extensive rehab but I almost feel like I'm growing up a little. 
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