Hi all,
I have been invited by my colleagues to present this week’s “Well Being Wednesday” check in, so here goes! Back in March, life as we knew it changed dramatically in so many ways. Many things that we took for granted were suddenly gone and for many of us, we are still wondering if or when those things will come back.
It got me thinking—what have I missed the most since the pandemic hit? First, let me offer a qualifier: for this conversation, I am only talking about activities, hobbies or events that I’m missing. It goes without saying that I miss my family most of all. This will be the first time in years that I will not be going home to visit family and I hate that. As my mother has taken to saying, 2020 is just going to be the year that wasn’t.
With that in mind, I have realized how much of a role sports play in my life. I have learned that I can live without sports but I also found that I don’t want to. It is the form of entertainment I use most often to just get away from everything else that is happening in the world. I enjoy all sports but anyone who knows me will tell you that my passion is baseball and more specifically, the Boston Red Sox. I was hooked at a very young age and so many memories from my life, both good and bad, involve the Red Sox:
- Walking into Fenway Park as a child for the very first time and seeing that perfectly manicured field.
- Running with my friends after school to the closest home so we could watch the end of the one-game playoff between the Red Sox and Yankees.
- The ball going through Bill Buckner’s legs.
- 2004. Finally, the curse was broken and my Boston Red Sox became WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!
- Three additional championships since then—it never gets tiring.
I knew it had to happen but it was a blow to hear that spring training was shutting down and the future of the 2020 season was in doubt. I hated it when opening day (one of my favorite days of the year) came and went with no baseball.
Baseball came back last week but it just isn’t the same. Watching a game played in an empty stadium with canned crowd noise is strange. Additionally, they are already having problems. Games have been cancelled and one team has had an outbreak of the virus. I have my doubts about whether they will get through the season. I miss baseball like it was before COVID-19. I want to hear 40,000 fans cheering on their team. I want the chance to go to a game in person, whether I drive up to Baltimore to see my Red Sox or go to a Washington Nationals game.
So that’s my thing. What are you missing? What was that one thing you loved doing or playing or watching before all of this craziness happened that you really miss and that you hope will come back soon?