Life Lessons: The promise of spring and baseball

I always remember looking forward to the warmer weather and the promise of a new baseball season during the mid winter months. It seems the time between seasons seem to drag in the winter time as we experience the height of winter season but then when you look back on it as pitchers and catchers start reporting for spring training you ask yourself where the winter went. In late February the traditional time major league baseball players flock to Florida and Arizona for preseason training it seems springtime is not that far away. The winter time is a fun time if you like skiing and the snow which I do like. Unfortunately I have not had many opportunities to ski and I do not particularly like the biting cold weather but do admit enjoying time at home during a major snowstorm.

My son is not that fond of the winter because of the cold temperatures and the mess of melting snow. He prefers the spring and summer months because he loves the end of the school year and going to summer day camp. He also loves the water and whenever he goes swimming at the town pool it is hard getting him to come out. He stays in long enough until his lips begin to turn purple and his fingers begin to prune. Kids seem to never get tired of swimming as I also recall as a young kid enjoying times at the Tottenville pool in Staten Island and the IBM pool upstate near my family relatives home in Poughkeepsie, NY.

As an adult in my profession I am very busy during the winter months with the demands of tax season so it is nice to look forward to baseball once again as it is a measurement of another year gone by and the promise of a new baseball season where the team I follow, the NY Mets have the chance to be No. 1 again! It seems like a rite of passage having passion for the game of baseball. I remember as a young boy enjoying having a baseball catch with my dad. These times were special to me because they were not that often and because they were a time for bonding with my dad. I enjoyed those times and always looked up to my dad knowing how hard he worked and how great he was to mom and my 2 sisters and I.

Ever since my son was born I too have a baseball mitt waiting for him so we could also have a baseball catch someday. I am not one to push my son into things and prefer him to choose but I would love to see him develop an interest in the game and to want to play also. He does not show interest in having a catch so I still have the mitt but we will have to wait. I hope as he gets older he will wish to have a catch as I still love to throw the baseball around. I have taken Matthew to baseball games at Shea stadium, Yankee stadium and the ball park where the Long Island Ducks play. I have not yet had the opportunity of taking him to Citifield or the New Yankee stadium but promise to this year. Since Maria is a Yankee fan I will have to try to get tickets for a game at Yankee stadium as well. I have always been a fan of baseball and the Mets are my team of choice as it was my mom's also having been a loyal Brooklyn Dodger fan in her young life growing up in Park Slope.

So as the busy season preparing tax returns begins to wind down I am excited because then I can enjoy the 162 game season of Major league baseball and try to teach my son a little bit about the game as I feel baseball is a wonderful thing to share with your children. We are excited that pitchers and catchers are beginning to report and know that spring and baseball season are not that far away. Lets Go Mets!

Edward D. Iannielli III