Opening Day!

It's Opening Day for the Texas Rangers and for the first time since arriving in Kenya I am actually wishing that I was back at home!  In my opinion, it doesn't get any better than Opening Day at the Ballpark!

I've been a die-hard baseball fan my entire life.  It all began in Graham, Texas.  A place often referred to (at least by my family) as the center of the universe.  Although in my dad's opinion the center of the universe will always be College Station- home of the Fightin' Texas Aggies.  (All of you anti-aggies can boo that last sentence if you'd like, but I love my dad- so if he loves the aggies, I love the aggies.)

Anyways, back to baseball.  Some of my fondest childhood memories were spent parked outside the players entrance ramp at, what at the time was called, the Ballpark in Arlington.  We would often show up hours before games and then stay around after games waiting for players to drive by in their luxury cars.  My most prized possession at this point in my life was my baseball mitt.  I had spent years covering my glove with signatures of my favorite baseball athletes.  (I still have it and love it even though the signatures at this point in time are a barely visible.)

Just so you know- I didn't come up with this love for baseball on my own.  I have my mother, Cheryl Butler, to thank for that one!  She's been a fan since she spotted a cute Yankees coach on a poster advertisement in the New York subway sometime in the early 80's.  Who can blame a girl for fancying a sport simply because the boys are cute?  Besides, it sparked an interest that eventually gave our whole family something to love- baseball.

When we moved to Flower Mound in 1998 we were even closer to the ballpark.  This of course meant more home games!  In fact, at one point, my mom and my Aunt Peggy worked as ushers at the ballpark just so they could attend every home game.  Now that's a true fan!  Their love for this sport inspired our family to become lifelong fans.

As you can tell, I'm certainly sad to be missing today's festivities.  So all of you guys back in the states celebrating the start of baseball season, enjoy it enough for the two of us!