My husband, Jeff, and I have been in professional baseball for 15 years now. Living such an unconventional life invites plenty of questions and commentary from friends, strangers, and even the cashier at Trader Joe’s. Mostly people want to know how I manage to do it all – the moving, the traveling, the homeschooling, the uncertainty. All I can say is that I just…do it. One day at a time.
Life is sweeter and less stressful when I live in the here and now, not worrying too much about tomorrow. I mean, I do plan some things. Right now, I am planning for fall, making sure the kids are signed up for Little League and ballet and our homeschool co-op in Texas. We may not know exactly what day we’ll be driving home, but we will be ready to jump right in when we get there.
But long-term plans? I tend to leave that up to God, praying for copious amounts of mercy and grace along the way.
And besides, the how isn’t nearly as important as the why.
Last week, we were driving to pick up Jeff from the end of a 7-day road trip. As we made our way to the field, Leila said, “Mom, my stomach feels tingly because I’m so excited to see Dad!”
This is the why. Being here in Visalia means the longest we will go without seeing Jeff at a time is 7 days. Most trips are only 3-4 days. If we had stayed behind in Texas, we wouldn’t see him for months at a time.
This is our why.
Yes it’s hard. Yes it’s a weird life (you should see our 1970’s apartment with brown carpet and rented furniture), but it’s worth it.
This doesn’t mean the way we do baseball life is the only right way to do it. Baseball is full of families juggling life in their own unique ways. The bottom line is we are all doing the best we can with what we have.
So my encouragement to you, whether you are nomads like us or “normal” people, is this: Do what you feel like you’re supposed to do, and don’t worry about what others think. Figure out your why and figure out the daily how along the way.
One day at a time, mercy and grace.
Beautiful post!