Baseball is Big-Life is Bigger

So the best laid plans don’t always work out and this weekend was a perfect example. We headed up to Davidson, planned on watching the Cougars take all three games, hang out with all our baseball friends, possibly grab a nice dinner and then get home Sunday evening in time to throw in some laundry and get ready for the week.

Instead we saw two games and spent Saturday in the emergency room trying to quiet an infection that flared up in Ted’s hand. While I paced around impatiently and simultaneously apologized to Ted (for being so impatient) and stressing to the nurses that we didn’t have all afternoon to spend at the hospital I realized further how hard it is to be someone’s caregiver and confined to a hospital.

Ted asked me what I was going to blog about this weekend on our drive home and I told him I really hadn’t had time to think about it because my mind was consumed with his getting well. I am pretty sure he will see a hand specialist tomorrow and we will get on a path of recovery but it made me think about the Shieder family and little Mack and how it must feel to be his mom and dad. I can’t help but think their minds are ALWAYS consumed with their little boy’s well being. The day of mindless playing must be the exception rather than the standard for this family. They have to be consumed with the next chemotherapy treatment, his blood counts, and whether they are exposing him to something that will be difficult for him to fight off. There must not be the routine “let’s go out and play” that our boys have experienced. I was shown again this weekend that baseball is big but life is bigger.

Next weekend is a big weekend for the Cougars. We play The Citadel. It is always a huge match up and you NEVER know who is going to win it but you can always be sure there will be a crowd. It’s going to be an even bigger weekend because we are going to be “At Bat for Mack”. The team will take bp in a shirt for Mack to raise awareness and money for this little boy and his family. Please come out to the field on Sunday (or all weekend for that matter) buy a t-shirt or a wristband or just make a donation to help make this family’s life a little easier. Sunday is Mother’s Day, celebrate your mom and take a few minutes to think about what it must be to be Mack’s mom and celebrate Laura Shieder because not only will she celebrate being a mother she will be celebrating her little boy’s second birthday. So see, baseball is big but life is truly bigger. I love the game and I love it even more when we can do something great because of the game.

The College swept Davidson this weekend and we had lots of heroes. Please go to the CofCsports.com website and read the game notes.

See you at the field.