baseball

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Dear Jack: Your Voice is Noticeably Changing

13 years, 4 months.

Dear Jack,

In the same way I have been discreet with you about how you are now shaving your mustache, I refuse to openly acknowledge with you that you are currently experiencing your voice changing.

There are definitely those “Peter Brady moments”, where your voice squeaks/cracks in the middle of a sentence. I never mention it. I never want you to feel embarrassed as it happens.

Undeniably, you are now transitioning from having a boy’s voice to a young man’s voice.

But that is not a conversation either you nor I feel like having.

Instead, you’d rather just keep advancing your baseball skills.

“Sounds” good to me!

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: You’ve Now Begun Playing Baseball

13 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

A few months back, you decided you want to start playing baseball.

Your Uncle Tom in Florida and your Uncle Andrew in Alabama have both taught you some of the basics.

We have also paid for a few coaching sessions for you at a nearby rec center.

And now, as of this week, you have officially starting going to practice with your first baseball team, The Cubs.

So I imagine most of our remaining Saturdays in Tennessee will be our family cheering you on at your baseball games.

And by the time we move to Alabama this summer, you’ll be all set to play baseball there!

 

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: Playing Catch with Uncle Tom in Naples, FL

12 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

This week while you are on Fall Break, we spent several days in Naples, Florida; staying at Aunt Jenny and Uncle Tom’s house.

Uncle Tom was so excited when he heard you are wanting to learn to play baseball, that he went out and bought a new glove and ball specifically to teach you with.

He even taught you a trick to help break in your glove, by binding it with string.

I really enjoyed watching the two of you play catch in their background, during which you saw a couple of live alligators!

Love,

Daddy

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Dear Jack: You Were Quite Inspired by the Nashville Sounds Baseball Game

12 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Mommy is the Assistant to the CEO of the start-up company she works for in Nashville.

That means one of her responsibilities is to be the event planner for them.

We never realized that last Sunday’s Nashville Sounds baseball game was going to be such a big deal to you!

You truly enjoyed sitting in the bleachers watching the game; in addition to socializing with the other kids there.

And of course, if anyone was going to catch a fly ball, it would be you!

It just so happened you were able to get the Nashville Sounds mascot, Booster the Rooster, to sign the ball you caught!

To top it off, you told Mommy and me that you are now considering trying out for the baseball team at school.

That is exciting to think about!

 

Love,

Daddy

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Nashville-Based Vegan Daddy Blogger Takes His Family of 4 to the First Tennessee Park to See the Nashville Sounds Play Baseball, By Nick Shell

Just a few days after returning from our 2 week-long family vacation to northern California, including Lake Tahoe, we went to our first baseball game, as a family of four.

Here in Nashville, the home time is the Nashville Sounds. We got to finally check out the new stadium, which is called First Tennessee Park.

Back in April, I was invited by Toyota to go on an all expenses paid road trip across Florida to check out the MLB Spring Training Grapefruit League. That’s where I got my personalized Braves jersey with my last name on the back. Aren’t I cool?

I figured this Nashville sounds game was the most appropriate time to wear it. Turns out, I was one of many wearing a Braves jersey.

My kids easily had a great time, as there was much excitement in the air. Things got especially interesting when my son got his picture take with Booster the Hot Chicken, who serves as the official new mascot of the Nashville Sounds.

Because in case you didn’t know it, Nashville has been gaining a lot of attention in recent years over our city’s famous “Nashville hot chicken“.

Granted, there’s some irony in that my wife and kids are vegetarian and I’m a vegan, so we’ve never eaten Nashville hot chicken.

Or on second thought, maybe it makes even more sense for my son to hug a giant chicken…

Needless to say, our dinner at the Nashville Sounds game consisted of vegan burgers.

In addition to watching the game, you can also play miniature golf or corn hole. And of course, only in Nashville is the scoreboard and JumboTron a giant guitar!

I’m glad our family go to experience the Nashville Sounds game at their new stadium. We really do live in such a cool town.