Part I: Kristian & Baseball
Kristian & Naia after the big win.
It’s been three months since these two lost their mom, and to say they’ve handled the aftermath with grace would be an understatement.
It’s easy to put a blanket statement out there saying kids are resilient, but I think taking something specific that’s happened since then might be a more worthwhile way to put it into perspective.
So talking about Kristian — and baseball — is a telling story.
Kristian got into baseball a couple of years ago — late by most standards. And Key West is an intense baseball city so his first season was intimidating.
But it was his choice. He asked me to sign him up, and then proceeded to take a beating from kids who’d played all their lives. I figured that first season might be it, but he had a quiet optimism that was infectious.
This year, tryouts were the week Dorthe died. I told him he didn’t need to play at all — but even if he wanted to, he didn’t need to try out.
But he insisted on playing — and being at tryouts. Tryouts were rough for obvious reasons.
But that night, he was still smiling and asked if we could start playing ball together after school. His poise in the face of adversity was pretty amazing, so I agreed — even though as a washed-up former athlete, I’d gotten pretty jaded by organized sports since college.
And for the past three months we’ve taken Tuesdays and Thursdays after school to play baseball. I throw him a couple hundred pitches each session, and every day he gets better.
Since games started in January, he went from playing right field for the second half of the game and batting last, to starting in centerfield, playing all six innings and moving way up in the batting order.
Tonight he hit a three-run double, and his team squeaked out a one-run win in the final inning.
Over the past three months, Kristian (and Naia) have managed to live in the moment and move forward despite the tragedy. Their attitudes are something to emulate.
Kristian’s insistence on getting better — and looking on the bright side — has even inspired me to lace up the cleats for a coed softball league that starts this week.
So here’s to these two — thanks for helping your dad get out of the rut and for making Mom and me so proud.