Happy Birthday Doug!

There's so much I could say about our oldest son Doug as he turns 17.  I'm excited for him as he starts his college search and starts to figure out what he wants to do at least at the start of a professional career.  I'm proud of him for his intellectual curiosity, his desire to be the best he can be - whether it be academically or athletically, and his overall kindness.  I'm relieved that I think we've done fairly well as first time parents, and we're raising two good people.

His high school baseball season this past year was weird, as he was good enough to suit up for his varsity team, but young enough that the coach didn't give him much of an opportunity to play.  That will be different this coming year.  Doug played in his final Little League game this past spring, with the coach letting him play all nine positions (including an inning behind the plate) in his final game.  We're somewhat convinced he may be the town's all-time hits leader given he played Little League for over 10 seasons.  He continued to have fun with his travel team, and at this point in his travel baseball career, he's played every position except catcher.  He was again one of the leading hitters on the team and one of my great pleasures in life is watching him play baseball.

Which is why I'm selfishly glad he's decided to go to a DII or DIII school where he's all but guaranteed playing time, and he wants to go to a school within driving distance for us.  I'll keep my unbreakable streak going of not missing any of his games, and proudly make a few Chachi custom cards to mark his collegiate baseball career in a few years.  We're so proud of him, every single day.