Saturday, September 24, 2016

Eleventh Inning

It is virtually impossible for me to stay awake till the eleventh inning--often, whether I've worked a whole day or I've got to go in for an overnight day, even making it through the ninth is a challenge. But when you're watching baseball, the outcome often comes down to what happens in the last inning. Fall asleep before that, and you can miss the most exciting part--and misjudge the outcome. 

I can always read about the game, or even watch highlights, the next day. But it's not the same as the edge of my seat, nail biting experience of watching it while it happens and wondering what the result will be.

I suppose that's how life is though. It is always more exciting to be right in the thick of things. It's just impossible to be in the thick of everything all at the same time. So we choose--do we throw ourselves into work, or into our children's latest endeavor? Do we immerse ourselves in what is exciting to our partner, or in our own favorite hobbies? Do we focus on what is, or do we devote our time and attention to what could be?

Each time, there is a choice to be made. There are nights when I bail out well before the ninth inning, so that I can manage an overnight or an early morning. And there are nights when I give up the idea of a good sleep so that I can have that down to the wire experience. And each time, I hope that I am making the right choice for the moment. We can never really know. But I guess that's our challenge--every time we step up to the plate...

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