Enjoy the ride

… it didn't really hit me until one of the grandmothers of my sons teammates approached me with tears in her eyes during the last game. She said she was going to miss seeing me at the field …

The kids move on to the next phase of their life. I think it’s the parents who suffer more when it ends. I remember when the core of my daughter’s travel softball team was seniors several of the parents were shook the journey together was over. For me, it was on to a new group with college softball in the spring and coaching my younger 13u son.

After college baseball was over it took three years to stop looking for the best local high school and college games to watch all the time.

When I hear “It sounds like you miss coaching …” I interrupt and say “No thanks.”

What do normal people do on the weekends? All the stuff you’ve sacrificed doing for as long as you’ve been involved with your kids. In the winter I ski more. I bought a kayak for the spring, summer and fall. I bike 100+ miles per week ten months of the year. I don’t eat crap from food trucks anymore.

@Velo From The Stretch posted:

What do normal people do on weekends?

I'm just starting out too, so that's a question on my mind as well. For starters, there is reading and cooking grown-up food and traveling and lots of hiking and just plain walking.  I have bought a set of golf clubs and restarted playing, after pretty much dropping it when my youngest was born.  We are playing a lot of backgammon.  We also play hearts online with the kids.  I have also found that I really can enjoy a baseball game when I'm not rooting for my player or the home team. In a way, it's even more engaging when you're not all wrapped up in the results.  We are moving next month nearby a town with an Ivy League team. I'm thinking of getting season tickets to multiple sports, including, of course, baseball.  I also think it's about time I take up fishing.

My wife said this last night, "I'm bored, I'm ready to go watch a game".  Daughters volleyball will start up soon as will son's Fall college baseball so we will get back to being busy.  It was nice to have a break but I prefer the chaos of running to games all over the place.  I literally enjoy the ride.

As far as the youth stuff, I've met two of my best friends from my kid's youth baseball.  One was from his first year of t-ball and another from first year of machine pitch.  I'm confident that we will be life long friends as their kids stopped playing many years ago.

The only thing I would change is that I would have enjoyed the moment more.  I spent way too much time worrying about the "next level" and not enough time just enjoying the right now.  I was able to do that for my son's high school football and for this past season of JUCO baseball but I didn't do that for high school and Summer baseball.           

@Velo From The Stretch posted:

What do normal people do on weekends?

Foxson last played in 2015.   Hard to believe it has been 6 years.

It was a struggle at first since our world pretty much revolved around baseball.

Now we spend a lot of time with our grandchildren.  There is actually time for yard work (ugh!).  We've taken in some concerts, NASCAR races and for me, a little golf.  Wife always says to me, "What sense is there in hitting a little ball?"

Wife told me our local LL is hosting the District 9-10 tournament.  Guess what I am doing tomorrow?  LOL!

Get a hobby or, like me buy a Catahoula puppy before Covid hit in 2020 and have him always with you 24/7 to now, where things are back to normal and i have to keep him busy. Talk about walks, training, and playing fetch. Gees.

I was talking with some of the travel baseball Dads, we are going to resuscitate our golf careers in the fall.