doors close and unexpected doors open

Long time reader, first time poster. I have the same story as many of you but maybe with a little different ending that some of you and/or your sons might be interested in looking into. I am not going to give all the details of our particular roller-coaster, but along the way, through all the ups and downs, he had some great accomplishments - recipient of ESPN the Magazine Academic All District, All Academic for his conference, Strength and Conditioning Collegiate All American, Captain at a D1 program, graduated Summa Cum Laude with 2 degrees. But the one thing he wanted the most - to be drafted - eluded him. Like many of your sons, he watched every single name on the draft board through 2 drafts. He knew he was a longshot, but he thought that someone might take a chance on him as a Senior that would sign for a cheeseburger. Some of your recognize that kid, I am sure. When that finality hits, baseball comes to an abrupt stop. You have not had barely a minute to call your own for 5 years, and all of the sudden it is over. After a trip out west with a buddy to see some National Parks (something he had never had time to do)and to clear his head a little, the job search was on with the intent of studying for the LSAT. Michigan is a fairly tough place to be job hunting at the current time!!! Remembering a coach he had 4 years ago who had played in Australia after college, my husband and I encouraged him to investigate what that was all about. After some on-line investigation, and emails to one coach who put him in touch with another set of coaches, and quite a few emails back and forth, he was chosen as one of 2 American imports to play for the South Perth Baseball Club. He was told that if he could get himself there, they could pretty much take care of him. He worked 96 hours in 7 days at a music/food festival in our area, and that money along with what they would pay him to coach in their youth program was enough for his plane ticket. He left about 7 weeks ago and will be there for 7 months. He plays for the South Perth Cubbies in the Western Australia State League, coaches in their youth program, works at an after school program in an attempt to grow the game in Australia, is blessed with a wonderful host family, has the use of a car, and the club he belongs to helps him find all different kinds of work to make ends meet. He is just loving immersing himself in a whole new culture and doing something he never imagined doing. There are 11 clubs that make up the State League with each team having 2 American "imports". There is also a professional team called the Perth Heat. For 5 games the 22 Americans made up the USA All Stars and played the Heat for their spring training. Wearing a USA jersey is something he had never done so that alone was truly a thrill. For the first couple of games, an Australian made a valiant attempt at singing our anthem for our USA team. Through conversation, his host family realized that he had sung the anthem for his teams before and they convinced him to sing for the last 2 games. To stand on foreign soil, wear a USA jersey, and sing his country's National Anthem will be one of his most memorable experiences not just of his time in Australia, but of his lifetime. Gives me goosebumps thinking about it. Sorry I have rambled on for so long, but I am just so happy for him and I thought other players and parents might be interested in possible opportunities that are out there. All that hard work, time, effort and sacrifice may not take you to the draft, but it has the potential to take you somewhere pretty cool. As we each watch our sons and daughters grow and mature through all the life lessons sports have to offer, I would like to share a part of a recent email from my son, "There is a lot more to learn about yourself when you step away from everything you know for a little while I think. It is funny to me now that when I got off the plane 6 weeks ago I didn't know a single person, and except for a few emails and a little player profile, nobody knew anything about me. Now I have started to build these relationships from scratch with no reputation preceding me and I think that is a valuable experience; makes you more tuned in to how you treat people and see what traits you put forward first when you have a blank slate. Not sure what I am really trying to say with that but I just feel lucky to have the experience." 7 weeks down and 23 weeks to go - but I think I am the only one counting!! I really miss him - I am a lousy empty nester - but I just keep hearing my mother-in-law in my head saying "healthy birds fly".
I am blessed to be the mom of 3 wonderful children. With all the money spent on travel -gas, flights, motels, etc.- to watch them play sports and all the college loans to pay back, I haven't got 2 dimes to rub together. But I can tell you this - I am truly the richest person I know.
Thanks for your time. Have a good day.
Take care.