Funny Guy Friday... Changes on the horizon...

    Funny Guy Friday is written by my husband Mark. So, I married a Funny Guy...
    So it has been a while.
    Let me fill you all in on what's happening since we last met.  I will do so in chronological order so you can fully grasp what we have in store.  Sit back... Enjoy... FEEL MY PAIN!
    Noah got confirmed last week.  Beautiful Mass followed by a little dinner party at the house for friends and family. Nice lead off event!
    Matthew goes to his senior prom next weekend.  Bought him a tux instead of renting.  Why, you ask? You will understand in a moment.
    Grace graduates from Mount Saint Mary's on Mother's Day... she gets no party.  And while no party for a family that commemorates every big event (birthdays, baptisms, major holidays, including but not limited to Flag Day, first bike rides and that time we caught a mouse) with a party full of  food, wine, beer and great merriment, not having a party for graduating college may seem odd.  Trust me, you will understand in a moment.
    Matthew graduates from High School in three weeks. He does get a party.
    Grace gets married on Father's Day weekend.... WHAT? Grace gets married on Fathers Day?... that can't be right... who would do that to their dad... I mean parents.  
    Well... okay... I do mean who would do that to their dad.  The ink is not even dry on the last tuition check. I waffle between liking the fiance... by the way, I can't stand that word... and hating him for what he is doing to me.
    Not really... I like him... sort of.
    Now you understand why no to the Gracie graduation party and yes to the Matthew tux, but we are still not done.
    Matthew leaves for college in August... going to Salisbury University. He is excited and has even told friends, I have a beach house thirty minutes away.
    Not so fast young squire!  I am not an accountant but that beach house may be in foreclosure by September.
    Finally, my bankruptcy in October.

    So now that you are all caught up, I will let you all in on a little secret.  I am very excited about all of the changes and celebrations and have nothing but excitement and joy at each of the above referenced events... except the foreclosure and the bankruptcy.
    But one big event that I did not mention does have me feeling a bit melancholy. I don't use the work melancholy much, so I am going to tell you that I think of melancholy as not quite sad but a little bit sad.
    Yesterday, the Spalding baseball program had its annual Senior Night honoring the graduating seniors.  Matthew has decided that he probably will not play college baseball.  He once asked me if I would mind if he did not play in college, and I told him that it was entirely up to him and my goal had always been to help get him ready to have a good high school career.
    Baseball all started when I was out throwing a wiffle ball at him when he was six years old.  A dad in the neighborhood was out scouting local talent and asked if Matthew wanted to come play machine pitch. Apparently, they were looking for a portly blond kid that took hacks. I had never heard of machine pitch and thought that Matthew was too young to get involved.  We went to a try out, and not only did he play, but I resurrected my coaching career.  We were the Bees... as in buzz buzz Bee. We had two girls on our team and one wore a skirt to every practice and to every game.  The other... I wanted Matthew to marry someday... she was cute and had a nice swing. It was the beginning of a fun-filled career and friendships that will last a lifetime.
    Matthew was a chubby kid that all of the sudden got skinnier and more athletic.  He made a ten year old All Star team in Little League when he was nine... despite the fact that his coach did not lobby for him to be on the squad.  That idiot coach was proved wrong when he played well and even  broke up a no hitter.
    On a side note... his mother still has not forgiven me for not lobbying for him to be on that team. 
    He (We) worked hard at being a better baseball player.  Besides our regular practices, we would go out and hit by ourselves for hours.  Teammates began to join us at these informal workouts and they became a big part of nearly everyone's Saturday morning routine... as long as the temperature was above fifty degrees... my rule, not Matthew's.
    I coached him up until he was twelve years old. That final year may have been one of the most fun times coaching that I had ever had.  A group of kids that gave every ounce of talent they had with parents that understood what this was all about.  This was also the first team that he played on that he was clearly one of the better players.  I will tell you that it is easier to coach your son when he is not one of the best players on the team, but Matthew made it easy because he always worked hard and he never expected anything different from me. Unfortunately, Matthew had to drive home with his coach and his coach was not always as calm in the car as  he was on the field... you know, when all the parents were watching me.
    Our "car discussions" often led to my apologizing the next day. Matthew was always so quick to forgive me and tell me: Don't worry about it, I know I have to get better.  
    Of course, this just made me feel worse.  It was sneaky the way he would do that!
    Matthew went to Spalding High School in large part to play baseball.
    His cousin is the head coach at Spalding.  Not sure if this helped or hurt Matthew, but he did not make the JV team his freshman year and was sent to play on the freshman team.  Matthew took advantage of his playing time and had a great year.  His sophomore year was spent on the JV team and I would venture to say that this was as much fun playing baseball as he has ever had with guys that he loved. Every practice had a funny story to tell.
    The past two years he has played on Varsity, coached by his cousin Joseph.  Joseph is demanding of all of his players and he expects them to work hard.  I never thought that Joseph was any harder on Matthew than he was on any other player.  The only difference between Matthew and everyone else was that Matthew had to hear how he screwed up and then go out to dinner with Joseph or see him at every celebration like baptisms, birthdays, major holidays, including but not limited to Flag Day, first bike rides or the time we caught that mouse.
    It was not always easy for Matthew, but he rarely complained, and whenever we would talk about it, he would ultimately say, He is right, I have to get better. 
    Matthew's senior year has not gone exactly as planned.  He has played well but never as good as he would like... you never do. Facing great pitching every night doesn't help. But like always, Matthew is positive and they are making a push for the playoffs.
    But I will say this... I have never been prouder of Matthew than I am this year.  He has, in my humble opinion, emerged as one of the team leaders.  Always in the right place, always positive, always encouraging, and always working hard.  He cares first about the team... which is a quality that is getting rarer and rarer as "travel baseball" focuses on an individual's size, velocity, exit speed, pop time, and time in the 60 yard dash (which I never understood because you never run 60 yards on a baseball field).
    Hitting a ground ball to the right side with a runner on second does not get you noticed and please don't ask me to bunt.
    Let's just say that to many kids, the team and winning is no longer the main priority.  I understand travel baseball... I just don't like travel baseball.   
    From his time on the Bees to his senior year at Spalding, baseball has afforded Matthew opportunities to develop as a person.  I will clearly state that Matthew is a better person than he is a baseball player.... and I mean this as the ultimate compliment. Unfortunately, I may have been a better player than I am a person... and I was not that good of a player... so this may explain a few things in my life.   
    The other day, I asked Matthew if he wanted to go and hit and he said that it was okay, that I did not have to do that... and then said something about my being old! I told him that it was quite alright. I wanted to throw to him because, with the season winding down, this would most likely be the last time I would be able to do it.
    I considered it well worth the risk of a sore elbow and an achy back.
    Confirmations, graduations, and weddings are the beginnings of new chapter in everyone's life.  On the other hand, Matthew's baseball career is coming to an end.  This makes me sad (sad is more accurate than melancholy).  Not sad for Matthew.  He has grown up playing a game that he loves and along the way, has learned life lessons that will help make him successful... no matter what he does.
    I am sure he will miss baseball, but he will find something else to fill his time. College offers lots of opportunities. Good for him.
    But I ask... What am I supposed to do?
    Fortunately, Grace has me covered until mid-June! After that... I guess I will make a few tee times with my younger son Noah.
    There you go... Golf... something I can do with the boys for the rest of our lives! 
    Sign me up!