My husband and I have been to every current major league ballpark, and we have made these trips family affairs for the most part. Our youngest is our one baseball fan, but he missed out on the parks we visited before he was born.
As his 12th birthday approached, we noticed that the Cubs were playing a day game and the White Sox were playing a night game on that day. So we arranged for a surprise for him - we woke him early that morning, drove to the airport, and flew to Chicago.
On top of everything else that went right for this trip, including incredibly perfect weather, there was a surprise we hadn't anticipated. Right before entering Wrigley Field, a young woman in an Auto Trader t-shirt told us that Goose Gossage, who had been induced into Baseball's Hall of Fame one month earlier, was down the street, signing autographs!
I know that Goose was a fierce competitor on the mound, but he was the nicest guy in the world to my son on his birthday. He signed autographs, posed for a picture, and was just a sweetheart to him.
When we got home, my husband put together this shadowbox of our souvenirs of the day - the tickets from the Cubs and White Sox games, the card and glove that Goose Gossage autographed, and the picture of Goose with our son.
I know my son will have some wonderful birthday celebrations in his life, but he's going to be hard pressed to top this one!
What a wonderful gift, he is very lucky. Everything I do, I hope that sometime in the future my kids will look back on with fondness, and perhaps share some of our traditions with their kids. This must have made his day for the entire year.
December 8th, 2011
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It truly was!