Baseball and Life… Connected Forever?

Dear Reader:

A couple of weeks ago… I mentioned that I had just finished a ” summer read” ( On Fire Island) I enjoyed because the angle or perspective of the main character, Julia Morse, was most unusual in that she had just passed ( at the age of 37.)

Upon her passing Julia discovers she has a choice to make… follow her adorable grandmother ( Nana Hannah) who is perhaps leading her to the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel or ” or spend one last summer near those she loves the most.”

Julia chooses one last summer that ends at the final community baseball championship /one her husband Ben, always played in.

Upon arriving she sees her grandmother ( Nana) waving her over to the bleachers and she realized her time is up… she has one last game to watch.

It is then that her grandmother reveals a secret… why she should not be sad about leaving… ” You’ll be back if you want to.” She touched my cheek and added ,” It’s just like baseball. You have to leave home in order to return to it again.”

The more I thought about that comment… the more I liked and understood the metaphor. In our lifetimes don’t we all leave home to venture out to find our place… and in doing so… don’t we find ourselves on different ” bases -( life experiences) before returning back home… to home base?

***I let myself think of all the bases ( to date) I have circled before hopefully one day sliding back into home plate… the circle of life complete.

True confession… Walsh played Little League baseball every summer from the time he was eligible and every summer… I would hope they would lose so we could squeeze in a few days of vacation before football game practice began…& and it rarely happened… his little team would win it all! 😂

Tommy was even the ball boy for the All/Star Championship Win! Mandy and I just looked at each other and sighed-no family summer vacation … again!!!

So these days when I go to Edisto with the girls… it is so nice not to have to plan around baseball games! And speaking of Edisto… there was a wonderful article recently in a travel magazine on one of the Edisto side roads… the Edisto Island National Scenic By-Way.

This two-lane road takes you through some of the most beautiful parts of the Lowcountry… where one can see salt marshes, maritime forests, tidal creeks and Edisto Beach.

So until tomorrow…

**Faith Directive # 7 -Trust in Possibilities… Aren’t the bases we run through life the possibilities we trust to return us back home… home plate?**

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

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1 Response to Baseball and Life… Connected Forever?

Ron and Lynn Gamache says:

July 18, 2023 at 7:38 am

A unique and interesting metaphor….I like it! This mother/grandmother has watched many a baseball game. All were exciting as long as some friend or family member was involved. Always happy when the season didn’t run too long!

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