When my daughter wanted to find out the gender of her first child I was hoping she was having a girl.  Then she called me.  She was having a boy.  At that time I was working in a middle school classroom with eighth-grade boys.  If you have ever been surrounded by middle school boys you probably can understand why I was just a bit scared!  I had myself convinced the baby would be born a teenage boy!  Happily, I can say my grandson was born a beautiful healthy baby boy.

Fast forward a few years and he was signing up for tee-ball.  Baseball has always been a part of my life from the time I was watching my older brother play.  Now I was going to watch my grandson play on the exact same field. My brother, who went on to sign with a minor team, would have enjoyed seeing his great-nephew play.  Unfortunately, he had passed away before my grandson was born.  The memories though were very present.

From Little League to Champions

After tee-ball there was little league and the friendships formed were becoming stronger on and off the field.  Sometimes the friends were on the same team and sometimes they played against each other.  Win or lose the boys still remained friends.  They cheered for each other and offered a pat on the back when things didn’t go well.  They knew the true meaning of being a teammate.  As they grew older their game improved.  These boys went on to win the state championship.  After little league, they stayed together as a travel team until high school.

There is something to be said about playing a sport with the kids in your neighborhood or who you go to school with.  Tryouts for the high school team came and these same boys were now on the freshman team.  They all came with good work ethics and were excited to finally be playing for their high school which was a future dream when they were just little leaguers playing in the dirt.

 

The first three years of high school baseball had its share of ups and downs.  But they stuck together cheering each other on.  Their tempers were a little more evident but their laughs and smiles were even bigger.  Senior year finally arrived.  The class of 2020.  The varsity team was ready.  Then suddenly everything came to a halt.  Covid 19 was here and their season was canceled.  Everything they worked so hard for was no longer going to happen.  Thank goodness they had each other to lean on.  The friendships they formed years ago gave them the strength to get through the disappointments.  The teammates were there for each other.  We were all disappointed.  The parents were heartbroken.  As grandparents, we have watched our grandson and his friends play their hearts out on the field.  We were also disappointed.

Graduation Gifts for the Baseball Team

Thankfully, these recently graduated men were given one more chance to take the field again when their coach from the little league days and state champion travel team brought them all together for one last time.  It’s a short season but it’s a great way to finish!

Team Bracelets
Personalized Team Bracelets Handmade with Baseball Infield Dirt

I look at these young men and it’s like I have a team of grandsons.  Some from the early days have gone on and played another sport.  But this particular group have stayed together.  Last summer I knew I wanted to do something special for them so I started collecting dirt from the infields of the baseball fields that they played on from the tee-ball days to the high school days.  All their home fields in between and all in their home town.  I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it but one day I was looking on Dune Jewelry’s website and had an idea.  I sent a message asking if there was a way to incorporate the dirt into a man’s bracelet. 

The answer was yes!  I knew this would be the perfect gift.  I just didn’t know how perfect Dune Jewelry would make it.  The bracelets are awesome!! They engraved the back with the words of their coach and the lava beads are stunning.  The best part though is each one contains the infield dirt with many memories.  The entire team all thought their gift was so cool.  They are all going on to further their education and won’t be together physically as often, but they will always be lifelong teammates.  They will carry their memories in their hearts and on their wrists.  Thank you to the creative people at Dune Jewelry for creating this memorable gift. – Shelley T.

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