May 23

And just like that, the baseball season is over. Isaac's team didn't win the big game, but they played well and kept it competitive until the very end. There were a few tears when they came off the field for the final time, but for the most part, I think they were happy and I didn't think I could be prouder of all of them. And then this happened, and, ironically, I had to eat those "couldn't be prouder" thoughts:

After each team took pictures on the diamond, the parents scattered to our respective sides to swap reflections and parting words. I was surprised --and genuinely touched-- when I turned around at one point and saw boys from both teams engaged in a spirited game of pickle. A's running with Braves running with A's, laughing and tripping over themselves and having a fabulously good time. It was, in a word, beautiful.

With the competition over, they went back to being what they've really always been underneath it all: a bunch of eight-to-10 year old boys who just want to play and have fun. It no longer mattered who was on which team; in those post-game moments, they were all just kids who --underneath it all-- probably didn't want to see their fabulous season end.

What a blessing it is to see children living the way we all should live, right? I think so.