A Painful Post

This is more painful than I thought it would be, and I’ll have to fight off some depression.  The Mustang baseball season is over, and Justin’s high school career will end next week in the GWTBCA all-star game.

The Holliday Eagles defeated our Mustangs 11-3 Saturday night to end the playoff run in the regional semifinals.

With Justin being the oldest this is the first time I’ve had to deal with something coming to a sudden end for him like this.  Only one team in the state ends their season, or their senior’s careers, the way they want to so most all of us have to deal with this.  I can tell you that was the quietest drive I’ve ever taken from Abilene back to Shallowater.  It seemed to fly by (thankfully) but only because I spent the entire trip pondering the end of high school baseball for JP and so I wasn’t counting mile by mile pass by.  Physically it’s going to take me days to get over being up past 2:30am two days in a row; emotionally it’s going to take longer for me to get over the end of the 2009 Mustang season. 

It was a wonderful season and I’m so happy for Justin that he could not only be a part of it, but a big part of it.  It was a dream come true.  Thanks to all the coaches who helped get the kids this far, but special props to Jeff Richardson who we just think the world of and who has done such an amazing job with Justin.  I’m convinced Jeff is the reason Justin had the year he did.  Justin finished with ERAs of 3.07 on the year, 1.62 in district and 3.82 in the postseason (unofficial “Dad stats”).

Maybe something good will happen next week in the all-star game and it will lift my melancholy spirits.