Senior Night (I'll cry, at least we have playoffs and college............but this is an end to a "chapter")

The best is yet to come, Russ!

Senior night was harder than I thought it would be

Remember every moment, it can't be taken away from you!  Enjoy ~

Of course the moment is a little bit of "ours", they're our kids!  And nights like tonight can feel very much like it's ours.  But it's mostly theirs.  Enjoy it from their perspective as well as your own...

And Congratulations to all!

BTW, I'd be more inclined to stay late than to get there early.  More reflection.  Less agony.

Oh, and have someone take lots of pics.  Even the best of memories fade.

My son's is next week and I'm going to fall apart and I'm at peace with that.

Senior night was hard, but it sure beats having it end before you have that "one last time"... 

Recently it seems every game I umpire is senior night - brings back a flood of memories. The other day while sitting in the home dugout while they did their thing - I hear one player is class Valedictorian and thought, damn cool! Great for him. Wicked smaht too!!

For all you going through it, enjoy the heck out of it - graduation is only a few days/weeks away too. You think you're crying now!  Next Fall you send them off to college and wonder how the heck that went so fast.

My son's senior game is next Saturday. They do a great job of hanging posters of the players on outside of the dug out wall. I am sad I will miss it as I will be taking my youngest up north for a basketball tournament.

Senior night was 12 days ago. Didn’t really register as an impactful game/night. Just business as usual (with all my love for him + the game).

But Thu night they faced elimination in state, and I was suddenly faced with the “holy shit” moment. Cried before the game at home in private.  And as the 7the inning rolled around, was asking “is this really it?”

A win was pulled out, and the day is staved off…for now.

It's been 10 years since my son's senior night, but I still remember most of it.

Team was having its best season in 25 years and would go on to the playoffs - losing in the state quarterfinals.

Anyway, they were in a three-way race for the district title and every win was critical.  That night we were hosting  one of the teams vying for the playoffs.   They had beaten us 2-1 early in the season, however, we were without our star pitcher (5 tool player who would be drafted) at the time.  Historically, the team never did well on senior night - losing most of them.

But this year was different.  There were 6 seniors that year, my son among them.  Pregame ceremonies had the parents escort their sons to the 3rd base line where each parent received flowers and a very nice token from their son.  As they walked onto the field, the PA announcer was introducing the son and parents, some other details and the player's future plans.

Game time.  It became apparent early that our ace was "on" that night. Three up and three down in the 1st inning - he would go the entire game and only threw about 70 pitches.  We scored 2 runs in the bottom half and never looked back.  The team blew it open in the later innings.   Things are a little hazy now, but by the 6th inning we had 10-0 lead and the game was over early due to the slaughter rule.

Russ - enjoy the game and soak it all in.  I seem to remember thinking, "Where did 4 years go?"  I remember our son starting HS and the next thing I knew it was his senior year.  It went by fast or so it seemed.  Agree with Cabbage - take as many pics as you can.  Win or lose, it is a night worth remembering.

Bring some tissues (for your wife  or significant other ) and enjoy the game.   This is about all his hard work, the shared early morning rides to the ballfield, and the support you've provided over the years...enjoy!

Best of luck with the next chapter.   It is going to be very different, but he'll adjust and so will you.

I believe memories without lasting emotional and physical damage are our most valuable possessions – and being a baseball parent pays well…

I remember senior night like it was yesterday – I have no clue who they played, if they won or how my kid did – just walking on the field with him and the melancholy realization that our lives were about to pivot again.

Be prepared, there are other less obvious emotional moments heading your direction. My toughest was the day after he left for juco. I got up early like usual, but I didn’t need to scramble 5 eggs with a half-pound of extra lean turkey, pour a big glass of fat free high protein milk, pack an after-training lunch with what seemed like $10 worth of lunch meat, a bunch of fruit and a protein shake jigger with pre-measured powder.

The morning was quiet, and I felt like I had just been laid off – I’m sorry Mr. Stephan, your services are no longer required, I know it seems like your less valuable today than you were yesterday, but you’ll bounce back when you realize how much you’re saving on groceries…

Short lived upside, the cost to supplement the crappy food in the juco meal plan exceeded the cost of eating at home. “No, you can’t buy the air-chilled hormone-free chicken breast at Whole Foods! Actually, you can’t use the credit card at Whole Foods for anything! Get that stuff at HEB and send me an image of the receipt so I can match it to the charges…”

Fun times - lol!

I think we are fortunate that the kid will be rushed from end of season, to graduation to moving in with his host family and playing summer ball so we won't have time to digest what happened. I am sure it will hit us like a ton a bricks on our first Sunday dinner without him. Lucky for me the wife is over the top emotional that will quickly cap any of mine.

Congratulations. I get it...but here is the next phase. Just as much....actually thinking about it... it is more fun. Enjoy the journey.

didn't cry (although older son did), and we got the W. Here he is w/ coach getting told "I love everything you've meant to this program for 4 years, but we've still got work to do".