Just Showing Up

You know most of these posts will come from Russ, but I had to jump in again! One of my goals for this sabbatical time is just showing up. I think I've done pretty well at just showing up for work and just showing up in times of crisis and just showing up for meetings and just showing up at the hospitals and just showing up to preach. One of my hopes for these 12 weeks is to just show up for my boys. I've actually been pretty pleased over these 8-plus years of being pastor and mother that I've shown up as much as I have for my sons, but I have honestly been looking forward to this devoted kind of time with them as much as anything about the whole summer. This weekend, Bennett and I traveled to Myrtle Beach for his baseball team's final tournament of the year while Russ and Jackson stayed in Charlotte for Jackson's final tournament before we all head to Cooperstown in two weeks for a week of baseball mania at the Little League Hall of Fame tournament for Jackson's team.

Russ and I kept the phone lines hopping - calling each other every time one of the boys was at the plate or in between every inning. Between the two of us, we showed up for 9 baseball games in two days. We lived through wins and losses (no one brought home any hardware this time!) We witnessed strikes and balls, pitching and catching, outfielding and first base coverage and a little bit of bench warming. We enjoyed hits and walks and pop flies and some strike outs. We did our fair share of cheering and encouraging. We repeated to each other play by play moments when baseball really happened for a bunch of 10 year olds and 12 year olds who still hold on to the dream of many young boys to play in the Bigs - making their way to the Show. And all we did this weekend was to show up. And it was good.

Today was my father's birthday - he would have been 84 today, and he did love baseball - especially the Atlanta Braves and any team that his children/grandchildren played on. He was a big believer in just showing up for your children's events. He sat through more tennis matches (which he felt was about as exciting as watching paint dry!) and piano recitals and girls' softball and even many of Jackson and Bennett's baseball games. And when he wasn't at a game - I kept his phone line hopping with play by play details of "just the facts" of his grandsons' baseball action!

This weekend, my brother and sister-in-law and niece showed up for Bennett's games at the beach. It was hot, but we did have fun. In a couple of weeks, Russ, Bennett, my brother and sister-in-law and niece, my sister and brother-in-law, and I will show up for Jackson's week of games in Cooperstown. We'll cheer and laugh and have a great time. We'll quote Daddy when they get a big hit that goes right into the glove of the outfielder - "You reckon he didn't see that guy standing there?!" And we'll help the ump make better calls from the stands.

I can't think of a better place to spend Daddy's birthday than on a baseball diamond. I'm simply glad and grateful that I was able to show up today!

Amy