A new hope

It is warm today, nearly 60 degrees. It will not last, the high is expected to be in the 20's tomorrow. Life.

I broke out my Cubs jacket today. Spring training begins this week. Already I look on the baseball season with new hope and of course, being a Cubs fan, with a sense of dread. Woods already looks like he will not be ready by Opening Day. Does the ageless Maddox have one more year in him? Was Lee's 2005 season a one -shot wonder?

On the local front, the little one's baseball team has begun indoor practice. Will they be as good or better than last year? The rec league will have try-outs in a few weeks. Soon our weekends will be filled with the ping of metal bats, the snap as the ball hits the glove, the smell of leather, of grass, of dirt, of the river next to the park. We will feel the bite of mosquitoes and the clouds of gnats will make drinking a coke hazardous. I will love every minute of it. Before we know it another season will pass us by. We will be older. A little more joy will be sapped from our lives, leaving only the memories of fun, excitement, disappointment, victory, and defeat. I will remember the laughter, the good times, the closeness of my family.

I noticed the buds are starting to form on the trees. The cold comes back, but each day it loses its strength. The wind will soon shift to the southwest, bringing spring, bring warmth, bringing new hopes for better days.