Get your coffee. This one's a long one.

PART 1

I can't believe I'm about to type this . . . Brian has retired from playing professional baseball. I still haven't wrapped my brain around this reality. There were still so many things I was looking forward to, like our children watching Brian play baseball. Like seeing his childhood dream of pitching in the major leagues come true, etc. However, at the age of 33 he's made the difficult decision to "hang it up" and pursue another career. We both know that this will be somewhat of a grieving process. It's the end of a chapter, the only job Brian has ever known, and the only lifestyle we've known as a married couple. I loved so many things about it: the people we met, the friends we made, and the places we got to see. But most of all I treasure the valuable lessons God taught us on the journey. I'll remember those lessons for the rest of my life because they taught me about my God and drew me into a closer relationship with Him. And that made our time in professional baseball so sweet, so worth it.

It's almost spring, and subconsciously I keep thinking we'll be taking off soon to go to spring training. On one hand I'm sad that we're not, but on the other hand I'm happy. The stability of being at home with family, friends, our church and community will be nice to have (as well as a steady, reliable pay check!!).

But I'll miss the game.

I'll miss going to a game almost EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT of the summer.

I'll miss having the privilege of watching Brian do his job.

I'll miss the crazy fans, and the normal ones :)

I'll miss seeing the precious faces of kids wanting autographs after the games.

I'll miss the letters from people saying they looked up the Bible verse that Brian wrote under his autograph, and how encouraged they were to read it.

I'll miss being in the special sisterhood of baseball wives. No one understands the joys and challenges you face in baseball the way your fellow wives do.

While I'll miss many, many things about life in professional baseball, I am more than confident that Brian and I are going to be incredibly blessed and amazed by they ways the Lord will use us in the next phase of life. In fact, I'm really, really looking forward to it!

But something tells me that every year when spring rolls around, I'll get the itch to be in the world of baseball again. For a split second my heart will sink because I'll miss it all over again, like a long lost friend. What a fun ride it was. What a good God we serve. What an adventure this life is. Here's to the next stage of it . . .