Doing this baseball life alone can be hard. Doing life, in general, alone... can be hard. Thats why the people you meet along the way, are SO important. When we first started doing this traveling thing, I knew I would be okay because I had Tyler. Every time someone asked how I was willing to move across the country and not know where I was going... the answer was easy. "It isn't about where we are going. It's about who I am going with." That is still, and will always be, true. But sometimes it is nice to know that others have your back in life too. I will say, that the baseball community is UNBELIEVABLE. Everyone has been in each others shoes at one point or another. Everyone has great advice. Everyone has the same goal. Everyone is putting in the effort to achieve it and yet when someone makes it over the other, there is still joy. The wives come together for a common purpose but leave with more than that. I have met some of my very best lifelong friends on this road. However, I will say that a handful of them quickly moved from the friends category to family, and they all know who they are... but to show you what I mean... here are a couple of stories that prove just how important it is to find people you love on your journey:
* Tyler had been on the road for 2 days (of the seven day road trip)... I was so sick... I literally had the thought that I might die in that trailer park and no one would know the difference for 5 more days. When I say sick, I mean some kind of awful stomach bug. A virus that satan brewed himself, and it knocked me on my butt. I was throwing up, dehydrated, and had no energy to make food... much less drive 10 minutes into town to go buy it. I had no idea what I was going to do... and then God answered my prayers in the form of a family that owed me nothing. -Let me preface by saying we lived with a couple, Ashley and Brett, from our very first season. This was year 3 together. We have been through it ALL as our own little fam. They are some of our best friends and at the time, they found out they were having a baby. Ashley’s family lived pretty close to where we were playing that season, so Ashley had pretty much moved home to prepare for the sweetest little girl to arrive and Brett was on the road with Tyler. Her family has always been so good to us. Even before this incident, the guest bedroom at their house quickly became "Tyler, Marissa, and Bella's bedroom". I had been to family gatherings, holiday and birthday celebrations, and baby showers. I know what kind of plant Ashley's grandmother got for mothers day. I learned how to make and fill hummingbird feeders and I know where they hang them up. I know that Tess (the family dog) loves green beans. They had done so much for us with our families so far away, but on the second day of my illness, they became my saving graces.- Ashley's parents owed me absolutely nothing. They had done more than enough for me over the years... they could have easily said a prayer that I would be okay and moved on with their VERY busy lives, but instead... they showed up at our camper door, after an hour and a half drive, with gatorade and nausea medicine in hand. They split up so I could have my jeep when I was ready to come home and they drove me all the way to their house and nursed me back to health. Their own pregnant daughter couldn’t be in the same house with me... so she left and stayed with a friend so that her family could take care of me. They took Bella out and made sure she was fine too. My shedding black dog sure did love that white blanket they keep on the couch, and she was content there, whether I was sick or not. By day 4 when I could finally keep food down her dad was bringing home pudding, soup, and sprite... everything he thought I might like. I cry every time I tell this story. I know it sounds dramatic to say I thought I was dying but I kinda did. Okay... really, I think I just felt totally hopeless. I knew I was going to be alone for another 5 days. I couldn't stand up without feeling like I was going to pass out. I knew if I didn't eat something it would just get worse... but I had nothing in the house to eat. (I was supposed to be leaving too, so we had emptied the house of all food that would rot, or bring little ants into our camper, while we were away). I am so grateful for this second family, that I didn't even know I needed. I am thankful that they saved me... but most of all, I am just proud to know them. They are the kind of people God put in the world to be His light... they are the kind of people that I strive to be in life. Genuine, loving, and full of grace. I don't know if they will ever know how much I appreciate their presence in our lives.
* There was once a time that Bella was sick too. Not eating and kind of lethargic. She was walking with a limp and if you touched her... the noise she made would make you want to crawl in a hole and beg for forgiveness. It was pitiful. ( I swear last year was the hardest year for us. Both of us have pretty good immune systems but somehow managed to get sick/ injured back to back... NIGHTMARE!) Anyways, I have a friend from Indy who got us in with her vet and he fixed Bella right up. Now I don't know if you have a pet, but when one gets sick it is horrible. I just panicked. I didn't know what was wrong. We didn't have a vet to call. One minute she was fine and the next... not so much. Then entered Kelly, y'all have read about her before. She is the women's Chapel leader in Indianapolis. She is fantastic. She helped with Bella and then checked on her for weeks after. That is just the kind of person that she is. She takes the wives under her wing and makes sure we emerge as someone even better than when we entered. She is one of the rare, truly honest people left in this world, who wants better for everyone else... then she does for herself. If we hadn't spent two seasons with her in Indy, I would be a completely different person than I am now. I talk with God in a completely different way then I used to and I read the "good book" way more often, and because of that I talk with everyone around me in a different light. She always told us that the more we fill ourselves with Jesus' words, the more that God's words will flow out of us. Boy, aint that the truth! Okay, last example on why Kelly rocks... She once had us read some of the book of Psalms and then write our own Psalm. WRITE OUR OWN PSALM. At that point, I didn't think I would be able to. But Kelly is the kind of person that instills confidence in everyone she meets. If it wasn't for her making me believe in myself, I may not be writing this today. She is a blessing all around. Get yourself a Kelly!
* Mandy, she was with me from the start. I don't know if you know how rare it is to find someone you connect with and then actually get to stay in the same organization as them through the whole process. She recently opened her own business. She eats cleaner than anyone I know. When you look up willpower in the dictionary... I am pretty sure Mandy's picture is right there. Did I mention that she loves Jesus so whole- heartedly and gracefully? Her honesty about her faith and relationships has helped me grow so much the last few years.
* Ashlyn and Clay / Mac and Julia have been with us just as long. Our entire stent with the pirates, they have been by our side. We are blessed by both couples. I have paired them together because when I think of the three musketeers or the three stooges for that matter... Tyler, Clay, and Alex are the first people that come to mind. Their friendship is a pure kind of relationship. The kind you always hope to find. The kind of friendship where three grown men giggle at each other. If you have ever seen them together... you know what I mean. When we started, they were all starting pitchers battling for the same goal and yet there was so much joy amongst them when one would succeed. As far as us girls, I am honored to know them both and I love them dearly. Julia has taught me patience and perseverance. Ash teaches me to live in the moment. They are both an inspiration in their own way and I am a better person for knowing them. All 6 of us celebrate together in times of triumph and pray for each other in times of trial and for this I am so incredibly thankful. Tyler and I have lived with all of them at some point. I have had the pleasure of being a part of taco Tuesdays, trivia nights, and riding scooters all over random cities with them... honestly, I don't know how we are surviving without them this season.
* AB and Stalls. Amy Beth is one of those mommas I talked about in a previous post. She had Emmitt during spring training a couple of years ago, and has become a flawless baseball mom. She is a flawless mom in general, but adding baseball to the mix just makes her even more impressive. She manages to take care of her child all day and still show up to the games in a fantastic outfit, hair done, and dinner in a lunchbox for her sweet boy. I am not talking any kind of dinner, I am talking grilled chicken and mushrooms, diced avocados, and sliced bananas, etc... She always has every major food group covered... I can't manage to get dressed, do my hair, and feed myself a balanced meal much less a baby in the midst of a baseball game. It is almost embarrassing to eat my dinner of baby carrots and ranch next to them! And then there is her husband Jacob. He was Tyler’s catcher the majority of the last two seasons and the amount of growth Tyler made with him was impressive. Not to mention when he was behind the plate, my anxiety wasn't through the roof. For that I am grateful. They opened their home up to us when we have needed it, they brought Emmitt into our lives and have shared him with us when the baby fever was setting in, and they have brought so much consistency to our lives and so much hope for a beautiful future... and we are so thankful to share in this crazy life with them.
There are countless others and if I named them all we would be here for weeks. But if you are one of them, please know we are blessed to have taken this ride with you.
My point in all of this is, find friends in all you do... because it is the people you meet that make everything more enjoyable. And if you are lucky enough to find the right ones, they will make you a better person in the process. I never thought I would meet so many new people that would change my life. Let's be honest, I have had the same best friend since the 4th grade. I can sit at a baseball game by myself with no problem at all. I could probably have maneuvered though this journey without "needing" anyone else, but I am so glad that Tyler asked that first season, "Would you rather live in a college dorm or in a house with 2 or 3 other couples that you don’t know?" We landed on the house with 2 other couples. It was a crooked little house, with a slanted floor, in a strange little neighborhood... but that is a story for another day.
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