This Used To Be My Playground

Madonna's hit single is quite appropriate for this blog post...

For the past couple of weeks, Gabe and I have been going out in the backyard to practice hitting baseballs while there is still a bit of daylight left. He is turning into such a good hitter that he has now hit two balls over the rightfield fence (into my neighbor's backyard and more recently one over the leftfield fence (into the empty lot behind us). He is also starting to try to hit the ball from the right side of the plate and looks pretty good doing so. Baseball season is still 6 months away, but we are trying to retain the skills we developed last year.

On Saturday, the weather in Murfreesboro was beautiful. Bright and sunny, there was a soft breeze and the sun was warm on the skin. Gabe and I decided that we would go practice at a baseball field to practice hitting, fielding and catching. We had all of our gear in the car and headed to the ball field close to the house. Unfortunately, they have put a chain link fence around the entire premises and used padlocks to keep people off the field. We went to several other fields and found ourselves on the outside looking in on each field that we saw. We finally gave up on our search and played in a field beside 8 locked ball fields.

When I was a kid, this was not an issue. Most of the time, I would play baseball with several others in the middle of the street by bouncing a tennis ball in lieu of a pitcher. The tennis ball wouldn't break windows, so it was always the safe play. Yet there were still many occasions where the kids in the neighborhood would go to the park and play baseball after breakfast only to return as required by the streetlights, which was the third parent that told a child to get home on a summer evening.

What a disheartening world we live in for children today. Children have less time during a school day to play, exercise, and have fun in PE because we are pushing more academics. Most parents will no longer allow their children to play out of sight like generations past. Moreover, kids no longer play in sports in front of the house like we did either. Most children don't even have a playground in their own neighborhood because the developer's greed requires them to build 4 more houses built to maximize their profits. Other locations that have baseball fields are so afraid that a child will be hurt and a lawsuit will be filed for negligence.

I felt so horrible that Gabriel and I could not find a baseball field to play in this weekend. It is very unfortuntate that we cannot find a suitable place to practice ground balls on the infield dirt. Heck- I would have been happy finding a backstop in the middle of a field so that we would have to chase all of the passed balls that missed Gabe's bat. The children of our current generation have so many things that we did not have: electronic gadgets, video games, and portable DVD players. They don't have the things that help boys grow into men: open spaces to ride bikes and most improtantly, baseball fields.

Baseball fields are where boys learn the most important things to become men. Boys learn how to practice and play hard even if they get bumps and bruises along the way. They learn responsibility for their actions. They learn how to communicate with teammates and play as a member of a team. They learn victory is a reward worth all the time practicing. They learn that as long as they perform their best, they can be proud of their effort in defeat. They learn that each boy wins and loses as a team, not by the actions or faults of a single individual.

I guess for now, Gabe and I will have to continue playing baseball in our back yard. At least I'll know that he is learning the rules of manhood that schools don't have time to teach and our communities are not offering to our children.

Take Me Home

This post is named after the closing tune from every Phil Collins concert I have ever seen. What a great song...

Whenever the Tennessee Rogersons head east, it is typically during the summer months so we can enjoy the sun, ocean, and water parks that Virginia Beach has to offer. Every couple of years, we also make an attempt to head home to have a pseudo-Christmas some time in the beginning of December to exchange gifts and to enjoy each other's company. It is hard not to be home during the holidays. At this point in my life, I feel like each year that goes by without Christmas at home makes it easier than the year before. However, I know that each year that goes by is one less chance that I will have to enjoy Christmas with my family in Virginia.

That said, I seriously cannot remember my last Thanksgiving at home. It must have been well over a decade now since I ate Thanksgiving dinner with all of my family. Thinking about that makes me homesick and long for that opportunity once again. I honestly do not recall the last time I was home for a Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. I think my last Christmas in Virginia was in 1996, which was my first (and subsequently only) return after going off to college in Tennessee. The only other Christmas I can remember being home was when Joy and I surprised my mother, which nearly caused her to have a heart attack.

Sharing custody of Gabriel prohibits me from coming home for Christmas because I will have him from 12/23 until 12/25 about 2pm, or from 2pm on 12/25 through 12/27. There is no way for Jen and I to catch a plane in order to arrive in or leave Murfreesboro in time to enjoy Christmas in both places. Luckily, Jen's family has been quite gracious and made me feel at home with them during the holidays. I have given up on having a Christmas in Virginia for the foreseeable future.

This year seemed like another of the same in regards to the holiday season until a week ago whenI realized that I had requested time off on the Wednesday prior through the Monday after Thanksgiving. Therefore, I will be able to have a family holiday back in Virginia. Jen and I are both quite excited because this is the first time that we will be able to se my entire family together for a purpose other than to come by and visit with us while in town. I will get to eat my favorite foods from many of my aunts: pigs in blankets from Aunt Lilly, chocolate pie from Aunt Barbara, and pecan pie from my mom.

Moreover, this will be the only opportunity for everyone to see Jen while pregnant with a protruding belly signifying the long awaited addition to the family. It really makes me happy knowing that I will get to experience some of her pregnancy with my entire family. I have missed out on so many things since I have been away: weddings, the birth of countless children from several cousins, and as rumors have it- an engagement of my cousin Lonnie Jr. (which was another telling sign of the presence of God!) as well. I hope to be able to cradle the new babies, play with the older ones, catch up with cousins, and show my appreciation for my aunts and uncles who created so many wonderful memories of holidays past.

We will also be able to be a part of a more recent tradition: Thanksgiving at William and Jennifer's house. It will be great to catch up with everyone there as well. We haven't been to their place before, so it will be nice to visit with them for an afternoon.

Finally, I hope to have the chance to spend some time with my closest friends from childhood. Chad now lives in Washington D.C and hopefully will be back in Virginia Beach to be with Becky's family. Brad still lives in Virginia Beach, so hopefully we will be able to get together for an evening.

Hope to see you all soon!

Can't wait to see you all soon!