We couldn't wait for him to start playing ball and when he was old enough we signed him up for our towns recreational baseball program.
He became a grasshopper!
The level of play at 4 years old is soooo slow and Brayden looked and acted so bored. We wondered if maybe it wouldn't be enough to hold his attention.
He played with his glove...
He yawned lol
He learned the basics and in the next few years a foundation was laid.
He went on to play in the Pony baseball league for a few years...
He was a Diamondback
and then he played for the Phillies!
and then we were introduced to travel baseball!
I didn't even know what travel baseball was!!
I didn't know that it was going to take over our lives.
I didn't realize ALL OF THE MONEY it was going to cost us!
I didn't know that our family vacations were going to revolve around baseball tournaments. We traveled to Reno Nevada several years in a row. I can't think about those times in Reno without it putting a smile on my face! So much fun!!!
We traveled to Vegas, Arizona and New York. We played in several tournaments in Southern California as well as all over Northern California. It was expensive, the days were long, it was hot, it was cold...but magic happened out on that field and we were hooked!
We won a lot of games and placed in many tournaments. Our boys won Cooperstown!!! That was definitely a highlight!! Only to then, a few weeks later, get killed in another tournament in New York.
One minute Brayden was hot and the next he was in a slump. It's life! There are highs and lows but they build character. Right?
All of this AMAZING baseball and then...
Brayden got burnt out. He started to develop a love and passion for skateboarding and baseball was taking him away from that new love.
When he was in 8th grade we "encouraged" him to consider trying out for his High School baseball team. He said he didn't want to play. Our hearts sank. Whaaaaaaaat?!
We made a deal with him...play your freshman year. That's it! And then you can decide whether or not you want to play in the years after that.
He reluctantly agreed.
Making the freshman team at Heritage High School wasn't going to be easy. We knew that he needed to work hard and show up to each practice and tryout and give it his all. And he did.
We were over the moon excited when his name was on that list of kids who made the team!
It was as if everything we worked so hard for was paying off.
We cherished every scrimmage and then every game when the season started. Brayden shined. We saw these boys come together and play their hearts out. They cheered each other on, they had each others backs and they did well. We could see Brayden getting excited about baseball again and it made our hearts full!
When I was a little girl, I remember talking to my Abuelita (grandmother) and she would say, "Si Dios lo permite" after every time we made a plan or set a date. In Spanish that means, "If God allows it." She lived with the wisdom that we can make plans, but it is God who holds our future in his hands.
Those words have never rang more true.
You see, we were all making plans, some to play baseball, some to buy a house, some to have a wedding, some to have a birthday getaway... the list goes on and on...
and then everything came to a screeching halt!
Covid 19 happened.
And we've had lots of time to reflect.
And I know it's baseball and not that important in the whole scheme of things...
but I'm grateful.
I'm grateful for all of the beautiful life lessons we've learned.
I'm grateful for all of my son's coaches that mentored and poured into him.
For the highs and the lows.
For our baseball friends that have become family - sooooo many beautiful people that will be in our lives FOREVER!
For his teammates that have become his brothers.
All because of a little white ball with red stitching.
Because of the virus his baseball season has been cancelled. The teams baseball pictures have also been canceled. I took Brayden out and we did a mini photo shoot in his Heritage baseball uniform.
I don't know if he will play again. I'm praying that he does.
Si Dios lo permite!
xoxo
Delilah
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