Several years ago my Dad and I cut down a huge dead Oak tree in our back yard. It took us several weekends to finally get all the limbs and wood out of the yard. The stump was an eye sore that hung around for many more years. After I had been married and out of the house for a few years I offered to pay a guy with a stump grinder to come and get rid of the stump. My Dad said "I aint paying no one to do something I can do." Dad the stump has been there for 10 years. Mom is sick of it. "Im going to dig it out like we used to do on our farm."
Well a couple of years went by and I come over to the house and there he is out there with a shovel digging at that stump. Cutting roots with an axe and working like crazy on that stump. I am worn out and simply have no desire to join this fight. So I walk out to the backyard. "Dad come on man let me get the stump grinder over here." "Boy would you shut the he ll up about that F_____ stump grinder. If you dont want to help me then go back in the house." Well now I am ticked off at him. He is in his late 50's and he is out in the sun sweating his self to death. So I do what I knew all along I was going to have to do. I grab a shovel and start to digging. The day ends with no progress in sight. Blisters on my hand. And Dad seeming more determined than ever he was going to beat that stump.
Time would pass even a couple of years would pass and now and then Dad would get in a few hours on the stump. I stopped by one day and he was not there. I could see the huge stump with mounds of dirt around it. I walked out there and the stump was black. He had drilled holes in it and set it on fire. But that dam stump looked no worse for the wear. It was still there and looking just as strong as ever. I walked inside and talked to my Mom. "Hey let me call the stump grinder guy and get that taken care of Mom." "Oh no! Dont you dare do that. He is determined to get that stump out of the ground. He would be furious if you did that. Just let him be he is not going to stop until he gets it." Mom its been years since we cut that tree down. How often does he work on it? "Well he works on it an hour here or there whenever he gets the chance. But thats not the point Ken."
Then one night my Mom calls me to come to the house. This was very unusual because she never called at night to ask me to come over. I asked her if everything was alright and she said just come over. "Son I have cancer. Its not good. I have a large tumor in between my lungs. Its wrapped around everything and they can not operate. I have to have chemo and radiation. I just wanted you to hear it from me."
On the ride home I thought about that stump. I thought about how it had to be done and before my Dad passed away. And I knew it had to be done the right way the way he wanted it to be done. And I knew he was not going to have the strength to do it. During his illness we would pound away on it from time to time. We never got it before he passed away. At his funeral I thought about that dam stump.
Well yesterday I got that ***. I finally got it. My mom was there. When I finally got it I sat in the dirt surrounding that stump and I cried. And she hugged me and we both cried. And then we hugged. And I have never been prouder of myself in my entire life. I didnt quit. My Dad never quit. We did it and we did it the right way. His way. I took my truck and rolled it over to the side of the yard. And my Mom said she is going to plant flowers around it to remind her of his work ethic and how he would never give up and never quit. How he would never take the easy way out.
Now I know why he wouldnt call that stump grinder. Tell your kids that are playing baseball - Dont look for the stump grinder. Dont rely on a stump grinder. It will take away what this quest is all about. You dig in and you fight. And you may not finish that stump in time. You may not finish when you want to finish or the way you wanted to finish. But you never quit. You never give up. You never give in. You chop on that *** and you fight and you do it the right way. And one day you will win. Because you did it the right way.
If we had called that stump grinder there would be no stump to plant those flowers around. I would not have that beautiful stump to remind me of my Dad. What we see as stumps in life I believe with all my heart are simply Gods way of teaching us what is truly special. Without those hard times , without the struggles we would not be who we are. We would not appreciate what we should appreciate.
So ball players when you find a stump in the way of your dreams you have choices to make. Decisions to make. Those stumps will make you are break you. But don't curse them. Embrace the challenge. And when all is said and done. If you make the right choices those stumps will be the things you are the most proud of. How you refused to give in. How you refused to quit. And how you dealt with it. Yes, the right way.
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