A most happy moment

I admit we're not this good looking

My nephew is now an apprentice writer for a baseball website. He will be a full-time staffer after he graduates from college this spring. When he told me about the job, he thanked me for being the one who introduced him to baseball. It was a big moment for me. 

I just found one of his first articles on line. It's about US. Him and me. OK, not really. The article entertained ways MLB could grow their fanbase among a new generation of fans, and my nephew's suggestion is that the league get more involved in intramural sports. He used himself as an example, recalling how, when he was 7, his aunt explained baseball stats to him and showed him how to follow the Cubs in the Sunday paper. Then this aunt took him to his first game was he was 10. Alas, there was no place for him to indulge his enthusiasm for the sport, since his community kept promoting soccer.* Perhaps if MLB threw more money and attention to children, it would reap great rewards in terms of interest, TV ratings, and ticket sales.

I am awesomely pleased. I am reminded of how, in 1964, my favorite uncle introduced 6-year-old me to the Beatles and gave me the soundtrack to my life. I feel like I have paid that forward. I also often wonder how, as a single and childless woman, my life has mattered. I realize I had a lasting impact without really intending to.

Two sentences out of a 300 word article. It's not a lot, but it's everything.

*Auntie's note: He wasn't really very good at it. Could it be he, like me, is not a natural athlete? Or maybe he just truly didn't care for the sport.