The best part of the whole weekend happened Friday morning. For almost three whole months I had to keep a secret from Justin. It was insanely difficult, but well worth it in the end. Justin's catcher his senior year and best friend, Troy, came out from Seattle for the weekend. Aria and I picked him up from the airport Friday morning and brought him to our house to ring the doorbell and surprise Justin. Justin had absolutely no idea Troy was coming and seeing the look on his face was priceless. Sorry, but I also have to mention the tears in his eyes. It was worth keeping the secret and being so excited I hardly slept the two nights before he came. Let me just take a moment to describe Justin and Troy. When it comes to sports, these two are made from the same mold. They talked about random sporting events from all different times and could remember exact details from games; games they played in, college games they watched, pro games that occurred that everyone else in the world has forgotten about but them. I'm not kidding when I say these two are walking, breathing sports encyclopedias. It was nice for them to interact since I'm convinced no one else in the world is quite like them. Troy, if you didn't pick up on how much it meant to Justin to have you here, let me just say it again. Thanks so much for coming! It meant more than I can begin to describe!
Friday evening we had a celebration in our garage/house. It was supposed to be a lovely weekend where we could play outside, roast smores, and have a wonderful time. It wasn't lovely outside, but we still had a wonderful time. We were bummed we weren't able to see more of our Mt. Mercy friends, but are so blessed to have awesome friends in our lives now who came to celebrate with us, along with family. Justin's parents put together this great frame with Justin's uniform, pictures, and a list of his accomplishments. It will be a nice reminder of his stellar career and this great honor!
On Saturday, there was a dinner and speeches by the four inductees and their coaches. It was fun for Justin to be inducted at the same time as one of his former teammates. It was also great to have his former coach introduce him and give a wonderful speech about the type of player and person Justin was (and still is). Justin was nervous about his speech, but he did awesome! I thought he did a great job showing how much he grew as an athlete and person because of his coach and his experiences. He also recapped the favorite moment I mentioned in my post in July where his coach made that one last trip to the mound. I think there were several with tears in their eyes again on Saturday.
This is Justin, his head coach, his assistant coach (they're brothers), and his former teammate who was also inducted.
This is the group of inductees. They had an impressive list of accomplishments as a group and it was fun to hear them all talk about their careers at Mount Mercy.
Look at this lovely family picture with everyone smiling AND looking at the camera! Never mind Aria's elbow in my face.
Here is Justin's family with parents, sister, and grandma!
I included this one to show the plaque he got that will also hang on the wall at Mt. Mercy to forever show his place in the Hall of Fame.
I have a range of thoughts and emotions about all of this. I am extremely proud of Justin for becoming a member of the Hall of Fame. The moment his career was over, I always thought he deserved it. I might be a tad biased. He holds several records and ranks very highly in most of the statistical pitching categories. But the thing his coach said that shows he belongs the most is, "He never cheated the program one day during his career." Justin showed up every day for practice and games and worked his tail off. He followed the rules. He kept his mouth shut. He listened to his coaches. He was dedicated to being the best he could be. And eventually he believed in himself enough that he was darn near the best period.
Justin's parents instilled excellent values in him from a young age and supported his passion so that he could be successful. They didn't miss many games and often supported his teammates when their parents couldn't be there. I think it was through all of that where Justin learned how to be the great father he is.
Something I really appreciate is his ability to let it go. College baseball was more than eight years ago for Justin. He played a few summers after he graduated, but doesn't anymore. He only knew how to train and play one way, so it became difficult for him to scale it back. While he does miss it, he understands that he has moved on to a new phase in his life and works just as hard every day to be an amazing husband and father. This weekend was full of wonderful memories. It was great to relive moments and see great friends. The cool thing about Justin is that it didn't do much to change who he is. Tuesday was back to "normal" life for us and other than the awesome jersey to hang on the wall, Justin won't offer up any reminders of his honor. I think that is part of the reason he was honored in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment