The package finally arrived. After a few weeks of wondering if it would ever show up all my worries finally subsided. I unwrapped the white plastic bag to find a few clear bags inside. I instantly went to open the package that had a red hat. It was a St. Louis Cardinals hat that my mom had ordered for me from the Sears catalogue.
I really wasn’t a St. Louis Cardinals fan, but something about my favorite color and the letters S, T, and L made me want that hat. It was a flex fit style cap. As soon as I put it on I knew it was a perfect fit. I bent the brim a little, but not too much. It came right in time for summer vacation. I was in the fourth grade. My friends and I would look forward to a summer filled with playing baseball together. While everyone was mostly wearing White Sox or Cubs hats in my neighborhood I went a different route. At that time no one really cared which team you supported. We just loved playing baseball. 
We would take turns hosting a baseball game in our respective yards. The games would go from the morning until lunch. Another game would begin in the afternoon. Back then we really didn’t play video games that much or watch movies. We loved being outside and pretending we were our favorite baseball players. We would sometimes fight over who got to pitch or play infield. It was a struggle to find anyone who would want to play in the outfield 
or be the catcher.
After eventually sorting things out we would play until dinner was ready. I remember using Frisbees as our bases. The home run line would either be a rock fence or we would set up mini orange cones. It was a time that seemed to last forever while I was in that moment, but now seems so far away. I miss those carefree days.
Every Opening Day I think back to those summer days when I was a kid. The endless days of just playing a game with friends that would never get old. I didn’t know how good I had it back then. Heck kids today still don’t even have a clue. Yet I am able to go back in time once I see that Opening Day logo painted on all the MLB parks all over the country. Adults turn into little kids as they go skip a day of work to go catch the first game of the season.
The smell of the grass. The first cold beer at the ballpark. The comradery of you and thousands of other fans believing that this is the year the team will win it all. The high fives to strangers sitting around you after your team hits their first home run. Filling out a scorecard. Looking up to see a clear blue sky. Hearing the constant claps of fans all around you. That is what going to a game on Opening Day feels like.
What are your baseball memories? What do you think of when you see your team start up another season? I hope it is filled with as many happy memories that I have when we welcome back the boys of summer.
