"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination." -Jimmy DeanSAINT PAUL, Minn.- As we embark upon this Father's Day weekend I am reminded greatly of the support I have been blessed to have from my family. In life, we will always have obstacles to overcome. Some obstacles seem worse than others do and the choices we make to deal with them are challenging. We cannot change what happens in our lives, but we can change our reaction to it. The wind will always blow in a direction we might have no choice to fight against however; if we adjust, we will prevail.
You only need to keep your dreams within sight to reach your goals. Now of course like all of us, I have days where my sight is fuzzy, sometimes to the point of blindness however; through baseball, my family and friends I have found the clarity I need to continue pursuing my dreams. Baseball has the ability to take me back, as I'm sure it does many of you, to a time when no dream was impossible to reach and some evenings you felt as if you could reach up and touch the stars.
I remember the summer I turned nine years old living in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. My mother enrolled my brother and I in the summer baseball program and sadly about went nuts most evenings before game days because I would wear my clothes instead of pajamas to sleep in. My rational nine-year-old mind thought it was best to be ready for the next day because I did not want to be late to baseball practice picking out or putting on clothes. (I also tried to sleep with my glove and bat.) Where baseball and climbing trees were involved, I was not your usual little girl.
On game days, I remember being dropped off in front of the fields by my mom and running full board down the path to the diamond eager to start hitting and throwing. I always made sure to have my equipment, which included every baseball-obsessed child’s favorite, Big League Chew. It is a wonder I never had more than two cavities with the amount I would chaw on regularly.
Most every summer morning, that wasn't a game day, I would bounce out of my bed praying for sunshine and blue sky. If the weather was clear, I could grab up my glove, my bat and attempt to drag my little brother outside with me to chase balls. If however; my brother could not be convinced or was less than enthusiastic about the idea I would spend time climbing my favorite tree, skinning up my knees and elbows. As the afternoon wore on, I would make my way to the front of the garage to shoot baskets and hit tennis balls against the door until my dad came home from work. My poor father about wore out his arm. I would beg him to pitch to me until he had enough just so I could become a better hitter. I had dreams to play in the big leagues for the Brewers at that time.
That summer I learned if you keep site of your dreams you can achieve the unimaginable. That summer for a nine year old, the unimaginable was winning the championship trophy with a group of girls who all had the same passion. I think, as our lives hustle and bustle on day in and day out we need to be reminded about the moments that make life special and the people we had in our lives to share those moments with.
Thanks to my family and my father I was part of something great for a moment in my life. The experiences I had playing baseball that summer I will carry in my heart always. Thanks Dad for wearing out your arm so I could follow a dream!
