Our son Matthew has been invited to play with a team this weekend in a tournament because some of the team's regular players will be out of town over the Easter holiday.
For those that have never heard of the Ripken Academy, it hosts tournaments and camps throughout the year. It has several fields that are replicas of some of the historic major league baseball parks.
However, due to the number of teams that participate in the tournaments, they also have to play some games at a nearby college.
The schedule came out earlier this week, and the team's first game is this morning at one of the "satellite" locations, but their second game is later in the day, at 2:30 pm, at Fenway Park---home to Matthew's favorite major league baseball team, the Boston Red Sox.
How cool is that?
Not cool enough apparently, because, barring a miracle on the level of our Saviour's resurrection, he will not go to that game.
You see, today is Good Friday, and Matthew is scheduled to be an altar server at 3 pm at our church for Stations of the Cross-----and Cheryl is his mother.
Have you ever been in a situation as a parent when your kids drop "hints" about something that they want, without actually directly asking you for what they want? You know... they recite how great something would be... you know... like if if they were ever given... you know... the opportunity to do something that they know that you are... like... never going to allow to happen. Come on, it happens to all parents and the recitation will go on until you finally blow up and yell, THE ANSWER IS NO!
Well, poor Cheryl has been going through a bit of that this week. She has heard it all, from it being the home stadium of his favorite team... that he may never get this opportunity again... that the Green Monster is reachable for a left-handed hitter with a little bit of power to the opposite field---someone, oh I don't know, someone like Matthew.
The poor girl has been getting it pretty hard. A full court blitz of reasons why he should be able to play. I mean, there were times that I felt sorry for her. I suppose I should have stopped the constant chirping, but I let it go. In fact, you might even say that I was responsible for it.
Oh... did I fail to mention that it was not Matthew bugging her? No, he is a bit dissapointed but he has not said a word.
No, I am ashamed to admit it, but it was me.
I have been doing the lobbying with my descriptions of the great historic parks and the re-told stories from our annual father and son trips to the real Fenway Park. I have even resorted to opposite field power that does not really exist. I mean, I have been a complete brat!
Yesterday morning, I thought that I had made some headway, when Cheryl stated that I was the "spiritual head of the family" and whatever I decided, she would go along with. Great, I said, then you will join us at Fenway Park on Friday afternoon. It was at this point that my girl blew up and yelled, MARK, THE ANSWER IS NO!
I don't think that she thinks that I am the "spiritual leader of the family" at all. In fact, I think that she thinks that she is the "spiritual leader of the family." I think that she just said that "spirtitual leader" thing in an effort to somehow guilt me into doing the right thing. You would think that after 19 years of marriage, she would know better than to try to guilt me into something, especially when that something involves baseball.
By the way, if you see Cheryl this week, wish her a happy anniversary on April 25th---don't tell her, but I got her a lovely weekend getaway in Aberdeen, Maryland to celebrate the occasion. She will love it!
Anyway, it reminds me of the time my brother's son was invited to take part in a breakfast celebrating the Washington Post All-Met athletes. The breakfast was on the same day my nephew was scheduled to leave to go to the beach for a few days. My brother gave him the option to attend the breakfast or not.
My nephew had been the year before, and so elected to forego the breakfast and head to the beach. My brother told him that, no, he would, in fact, be going to the breakfast, not the beach. When my nephew protested that he was given the choice and he made his choice, my brother replied, I gave you the opportunity to make the right choice and you didn't so I will make the right choice for you.
It is pretty simple really. It is what good parents----and good spouses do. They right the wrong.
Matthew will learn what is really important during the Holiest week of the year. That our faith is not something that we just pull out when it is convenient. In fact, there are times when it can be inconvenient.
But we honor our faith commitments, we pray, we give of our time and of our resources, and we worship. Perhaps we use these types of opportunities to show others how much our faith means to us. At all times, we give Him thanks for all of the opportunities that He does provide----even the opportunities that we may not be able to enjoy.
We do these things every week, but especially we do these things this week!
The fact is that there are more than one hundred altar servers in our church and Father Parry selected Matthew for this service. This, too, may be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Have a happy and blessed Easter!
For the record, it is official, I have decided that Matthew will play Friday morning, but miss Friday's afternoon game at Fenway Park.
That is, unless, of course, Father Parry is a Red Sox fan, and he just happens to hear, from some anonymous source, that Matthew has this opportunity, and he then intervenes and grants us some type of special baseball dispensation and.........
Get thee behind me Satan!
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