Dear Boys,

Thank you for making me wake up at the crack of dawn almost every weekend for the last 14 years. And, thanks so much for making me call you three times to get up. Thanks for the nights I spent standing at the washing machine scrubbing the knees of your baseball pants so they would be clean for the next day’s game.  

Thanks so much for the rushed 9:00 dinners after practice when I was already exhausted from a full day of working. Thank you for the thousands of dollars I spent on tournaments, league fees, uniforms, equipment, pitching lessons, batting lessons…should I go on?

Thank you for forgetting your cleats and making me drive home to get them, or rush to go buy you a new pair. And thanks a lot for taking them off on the drive home and exposing your stinky feet with the windows rolled up.

Thanks a lot for the long two-hour drives to and from tournaments that at times, you only had one game and one at bat. Thanks for all of the dirt I breathed in at the games, and you got all over the inside of my car.

Thank you so much for listening to me coach you when I know you didn’t want to hear it. I appreciate that you shared with me what happened the times you struck out or made an error and it wasn’t your fault.

Thanks for the nervous stomach I had at almost all of your games so I had to pace around and bite my nails. Thanks tons for making me worry when you got hit by pitches while I waited to see if you were okay.

Thank you so very much for the weight I gained because I ate drive-thru and snack bar food with you because I didn’t have time to cook or pack healthier food.

Boys, thank you for the giant collection of awesome photos that I will treasure and enjoy while I look back on the great times I had watching you. Thank you to the moon for the wonderful friends we’ve made that we’ll have forever.

Thank you for the awesome baseball tournament vacations that allowed us to spend precious time together with good friends and great competition, and that have given us a lifetime of great memories.

Thank you so much for the hugs after the games and for thanking me for my efforts. That means a lot to me. Thanks, thanks, thanks for the conversations we were able to have to and from all those practices, games, and tournaments.

Thanks my boys, for giving me the best baseball games to watch, EVER. Thank you for letting me see you compete, show sportsmanship, excel, and grow into the fine young men that you are today.

Even with the hard stuff, being so tired, and spending all my money, I wouldn’t trade one second of this baseball life we’ve had together. (Well, maybe the stinky feet)