Stop! And smell the roses!

Every once in awhile I have to say this. A very good friend of mine was having a retirement party in his honor. I got the chance to talk with in private and I told him how proud I was of him and how much he meant to me. These words he said have been etched in my mind forever.

"Kenny, when I became a policeman all I could think of was making corporal. When I made corporal all I could think of was making Sergeant. When I made Sergeant all I could think of was making LT. When I made LT all I could think of was making Captain. When I made Capt all I could think about was making Major. And when I made Major all I could think about was making Chief. All of a sudden I sit here and realize that 30 years has gone by and all I have done is worry about what I wanted to be and never really enjoyed where I was. Son don't be like me. Enjoy where you are. Enjoy the moment. Live each day and be happy with the little things in life. If not it will pass you by and you will wish you would have lived in the moment."

I took those words and applied them to baseball. When my son was in T-Ball all I could think about was man I cant wait untill he is in coach pitch. When he was in coach pitch all I could think about was I cant wait untill he plays LL. When he was in LL all I could think about was him making that travel team. When he was on the travel team all I could think about was him making the middle school team. When he was in middle school all I could think about was him making the HS team. When he was in HS all I could think about was him getting a scholarship and playing in college. Then he heads off to college and it has all passed you by and he wish he was back in T-Ball.

Enjoy the moment. Watch him play NOW. Enjoy seeing those sweat beads on his face and the dirty uniform and the juice box lips. Let it be FUN. Let him have FUN. You have FUN. And dont rush it by. Live in the moment and enjoy every moment that you have. And thank God that you have a healthy son that can go out and enjoy this great game and life itself. PLEASE!