On the Road Again

It's that time of the year again. The time when football is wrapping up and preparations for Spring Training are in full force. This year Steven and I will be traveling down to Arizona early (in about a week) so he can workout and throw in weather about -2 degrees! The packing and planning has been taking place since December when the hunt for housing began. We were lucky enough to find a great place at a reasonable price and even found one of his teammates to live with us. We've all spent plenty of time together both during the season and this offseason so I am very excited about all of it. My parent's house has been our storage unit for the offseason so they will finally be getting some space back. It seems like we've spent the entire offseason preparing for this, yet not really wanting it to come...or maybe that was just me.

I know that we're both ready for the warm weather, seeing old friends and teammates, and of course a pay check! I know that Steven is ready to get back on the mound and ready for a breakout season. I know that no one promised that at any point this lifestyle and I don't expect it to get an easier in the big leagues. I know this is exactly what I signed up for when I started dating him, but that doesn't make it any easier. I read a blog earlier today written by a baseball wife about how it makes her feel when people tell her what a hard life it is. “Thank you for your concern. It really is hard. I panic sometimes thinking about how our lives are at the mercy of so many factors that are out of our control it’s terrifying. And I worry everyday about having enough money to do all the things we’ve both dreamed of. And I even get sick some days wondering how we can raise the family we want with a life like this. And my eyes water at the thought of ever having to say another long goodbye. And I’m scared about how to make the best decisions when we don’t know what will happen to us in five months, let alone five years. But, you know, I came into this relationship with my eyes wide open. And somewhere along this road filled with the fear and the unknown and the trials, I decided my husband and our relationship was worth all of it. So, as naïve as it may sound, I am positive that as long as we’re together we’ll always be okay. And when you believe that, the hard just doesn’t really matter too much.”

Let me tell you, those comments don't make it any less hard for any of us. I don't know if the intention is to seem sympathetic or maybe to make us second guess ourselves, but either way, it doesn't go over well. I've had those exact thoughts, and I'm sure most women in baseball or professional sports in general have too. The thing is though that we can't change the lifestyle and the alternative is finding a new significant other. Some women eventually choose the latter but for me, that is not an option. So guess what, I decided that I don't want it to be easy. If it was easy, I would have no appreciation for the good things when they come our way. If it was easy, I wouldn't have this common bond with other baseball wives and girlfriends that others can't relate to. If it was easy, I wouldn't be as proud as I am that we have made it this far. In A League of Their Own Tom Hanks says to Geena Davis "If it wasn't hard everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great". You know what? He's right. If it wasn't hard, every girl that met a baseball player would walk down the aisle and live happily ever after, there would be nothing great about it. The difficulties we face test our commitment to each other and to chasing the dream. At the end of the day knowing that it has been hard but we're still together and going strong, makes it worth it, makes it great.

So in that spirit…

“I can't wait to get on the road again. On the road again goin' places that I've never been. Seein' things that I may never see again and I can't wait to get on the road again. On the road again like a band of gypsies we go down the highway. We're the best of friends, insisting that the world keep turning our way and our way is on the road again.”