When Life Gives You Baseball Cards

Could it be??

After a few months of wondering,

followed by a few weeks of waiting, 

only to be followed by a

 few more months of forgetting...

Could it be that our mailbox was 

holding a wish come true...??

Turns out...
 the answer was YES!

When you are a newly minted 11 year-old,

there are pretty many amazing, real-world issues 

to keep you occupied like:

Discovering WWE, is it real or fake??

Choosing the 'just-right' Halloween costume, 
...Learning to fish,

... Playing video games...

and we can't forget about

the daily grind of being a 

hard-working fifth grader.
There's much to be done.

Being an active kid

 can also help to take your mind off 

all the wondering and waiting 

surrounding a certain special delivery...

A special delivery that truthfully, may 

or may not ever come to be.

But...

 a boy can hope.

Just like a boy can dream
 about one day 

hitting the baseball over the fence

or

hope to play in the 
big leagues ...

This story all began when we

 found a small collection of 
baseball cards at our

 local thrift store.

Our son Will is a baseball fan.  
Full stop. Period. End of story.

He has loved baseball for 
almost all of his eleven years...

He loves watching it.

He loves playing it.

He loves the stats and the strategy....

He just loves baseball.

During the summer months,
when we are not at the baseball field,

we become treasure hunters.

 Will has a select few items

he likes to look for on our

 summertime trips to the

second-hand stores...

Will's short list includes: old coins, 

baseball cards, geodes or

other fun rocks and minerals.

I bring the kids along 

on trips to the local thrift shops

for something fun to do.

Thrift shop hunting 
comes in handy

especially on rainy days 

in June and July

when the pool is closed 

and we are running out of 

exciting things to keep us entertained...

The thrift shop never disappoints.

We find vintage records with great artwork

old-fashioned metal lunch boxes,

 crazy board games,

1970's fashions... there is always something 

to put a smile on our faces.

This past summer,

 Will found a collection

 of older baseball cards.

Some of the cards were keepers, a few notable players,

including a few Nolan Ryan cards.

Once Will discovered the
 Nolan Ryan cards and 

began researching his career
 and baseball stats,

he was thoroughly excited.

Will decided he wanted 

to write Nolan Ryan a letter...
At this age, 
Will is all about signed baseball cards.

Will asked, 

"Do you think if I write to him, he'll write back??"

"Ummm..." (long pause from me)

As a mama, who didn't want to 

dash her boy's high hopes,

 I tried to be optimistic... 

as I said: 

"We could try, but we don't really

 know where to send the letter..."

Will went on...

His enthusiasm was bursting

from his bright eyes and big smile...

"I could send him these cards and...

he could send them back...SIGNED!!"

"Wow... "

I said "That is a pretty big request buddy."

I had to let him know, while this was a

fun idea, but it might not work out.

"We can try it buddy, 

but there's always a chance the

 cards might never come back..."

He sat quietly...thinking over the

risk versus the reward...

He thought and thought...

When I heard his feet

 quickly thumping up the stairs 

to get paper, 

I knew instantly what he had decided.

Will wrote his letter...

Starting with a solid first-draft like any good

soon-to-be fifth grader would write.

He next wrote his final draft that 

included his very

own Knothole baseball card, 

signed: Will Perry in his best handwriting.

I encouraged Will to include a 

self-addressed stamped envelope...

just in case... you never know.

(I didn't want to rain on any parade...

We had to be prepared to make this happen.)

I explained to Will,

"If this letter makes it to Mr. Nolan Ryan,

we need to make sure it's easy for him

to return it to you... and that's a BIG "if"...

It's the polite thing to do when

you are making a request of someone..."

Next, came my role in 

this big idea...

The Mom Detective Agency

had to open for business.

I had to find 

where to send this 

magical, hope-filled letter...

No pressure...none at all.

I wanted to give his letter the best possible

chance of getting where it needed to go...

After a full evening of what I can only

describe as FBI-style tracking...

and good old-fashioned mom detective work,

I came up with an address that would

have to do... 

Will addressed his letter

 and off we went to the 

post office.

 As Will slid his envelope full 

 thrift store baseball cards into the box,

 I said a quick little prayer...

'Please let this turn out happy

for him.'

After mailing the letter,

We talked 

and talked,

 and talked some more, 

and wondered...

Will asked

all about the journey 

this letter might take and

 how long it would take to get to Texas...

Would the letter fly in a plane...?

or go on a truck...?

What kind of mailbox did I think

Nolan Ryan might have?

(I had no idea how much thought 

he was putting into this venture)

I tried to temper his eagerness with

gentle reminders about 

how busy Nolan Ryan must be...

and also... sneaking in the possibility that the

letter might not come back to us, not ever.

Then, more questions came...

"When... ??

"When do you think the letter will come??"

We had a few weeks of 

vigilant mailbox watching.

At first,

Will hustled out to the mailbox 

every. single. day.

 He'd come running back to me 

holding a handful of mail, 

minus the anticipated
 letter from Texas.
Will would cheerfully say:

"Not today mom, 

but probably tomorrow..."

Those summer days turned into weeks,

and Will slowly stopped asking 

about when I thought the letter

might return to us.

Will's days soon became filled with

 back to school supplies,

and his own fall-ball baseball games...

Before we knew it, 

it was time to carve pumpkins

 and go sledding.

The letter...full of hope and beloved 

baseball cards

 had faded into the background.

Then, it happened...

 one cold January day...it appeared,

a letter...

THE envelope.

It was there!! ...in the mailbox,
in our mailbox!!

 A long awaited letter for 

for a baseball lovin' boy.

Was this truly from a

real baseball hero...?

It seemed to be...
The envelope was folded and creased, 
written in pencil,
the work of a young south paw.

 Sitting  atop a stack of  boring everyday mail,

 was a genuine Texas post-marked,

self-addressed stamped envelope for Will.

From one baseball enthusiast to another...

From a young little league pitcher, full of baseball dreams

to a baseball legend...

The letter really came back.

And inside...

Three signed Nolan Ryan 

baseball cards.

It was a baseball wish granted for Will...

his big idea had really worked.

It was a happy ending...
or maybe it's more of a happy beginning...
either way...it is certainly happy.

As  'Opening Day' arrives and 
a brand new baseball season 
is upon us,

let's all remember to dream BIG...

swing for the fences, 

and never shy away from

brushes with greatness...

You just never know when your

 dreams might come true!

Play Ball!!

***

To Nolan Ryan,

A heartfelt thank you.

Your kindness in returning the autographed

 baseball cards, was such a gift.

Our son will always remember

how you took the time to

answer his letter.
It means the world to him
that you replied.

Your example,

 both on and off the baseball field is

what makes you a baseball legend.

As a mother to a boy with big 

baseball dreams, I thank you.

Sincerely,

Karri,

 Mom to Will, 

your most recent #1 fan

Some of the photos from this post were from a baseball birthday party.
If you need any fun baseball themed party ideas...
there is no shortage of super-fun ideas here.
I have some to share:
Baseball Birthday Party