Pure joy

Some of the best memories of my childhood took place on a baseball field. I remember being selected for Hatfield's Little League All-Star Team when I was 11, and I'll never forget the experience. The way the field looked, perfectly groomed and ready to go. Bright white chalk lines. A new uniform that made you feel like a ballplayer just by putting it on. A perfect summer sun.

Later on, in high school, the memories became more intense. I remember a magic moment as a sophomore at North Penn. I had been called up to varsity just a few games before, and on this day we were playing CB West, and I was called on to pinch hit  ("Hands of stone," was how my coach, Carl Giuranna, used to describe my defensive abilities, so I didn't start much until I was a junior). We had a couple runners on in a close game, so it was a pretty important spot.

I hit a fly ball well over the center fielder's head and scooted around the bases for a home run, and we won the game. I'll save you the details, except for one: the way it felt at the precise instant my bat connected with that ball. It was a seamless moment; everything just came together so perfectly in that swing that I barely felt the contact. Watching the centerfielder stop, then turn and run after the ball made me almost giddy. It was one of the most exhilarating feelings I have ever had.

Now I am 53, and my magic moments on the baseball field (or any other field) are just memories. But I am lucky, because I continue to have magical moments--it's just that now I experience them through others. Three years ago, for example, I got to watch my son and his teammates complete one of the most thrilling come-from-behind, walk-off victories you can imagine to win a state baseball championship for Christopher Dock. As a baseball-loving parent, it's hard to beat that thrill.

Each fall for the past three years, our church has sponsored a flag football league for kids in the Lansdale area. Upward Flag Football has been the source of many of my more recent magic moments. If you're not familiar with Upward, we try our best to make the game-day environment like an NFL stadium. In fact, we play all of our games in the turf stadium at Christopher Dock, which isn't a bad start. We have an inflatable tunnel, and cheerleaders and players run through the tunnel onto the field as we announce their names, with music blasting.

On most game days I try to have someone taking pictures and video of the pre-game excitement, because there is nothing like watching the expressions on kids' faces as they run out of that tunnel onto the field. They are wearing the biggest smiles you can possibly imagine, and the photos usually do a good job of capturing the pure joy of that magic moment.

What are some of your magic moments? I hope to share some more of mine with you, whether I experience them first-hand or through others, and I encourage you to share yours as well, either by commenting here or by dropping me a line. I'd love to write about them in a future post.