My high school class is celebrating our 30-year reunion this summer. Sadly, I learned this week that one of our classmates will not be attending. She passed away suddenly at home on Monday. We were not in the same group of close friends in high school, but I clearly remember her smile, her quiet nature, and her talent in art.

An email from our high school alumnae organization shared the link to a myspace page created by her niece for people to share their memories of her Aunt Kathy. Her letter to her aunt is one of the most touching letters I've ever read, so I wanted to pass it along to others:

dear aunt kathy,

i miss you so much already even though you only left monday. we may think that it is unfair that you had to leave but i know that god has a plan for all of us, in this case, he needed your help to change someone elses life. i know that uncle greg and brian loved you so much. i dont know what brian will do without you. you two were so close. living without a mom is so hard, i cant even imagine. but brian is strong and he has his dad and nearby family to help him through this whole situation. i hope that brian and uncle greg will not mourn too long over your passing and live their lives with you in their hearts, and i know that they will never forget you. we all love you so much! you will never die in our minds, your soul will live on forever in the hearts that love you and hold you dear.

please, everyone that reads this message, take this as a sign. a sign that your mom is amazing but wont be here forever. you never know when something unexpected will happen and god needs her more than you do. so this mothers day, do something extra special for her and do a little extra just to show how much you appreciate that she is around. god has a plan for all of us, all you have to do is listen to him and he will lead you down the right path.

i love you so much!

jojo

~Celebrate your sports mom with a Happy Mother's Day!

The local newspapers are giving deserved attention to the pitching staff of the OSU Beavers...but it's still hard for me to read. I am happy for the success of some of the new players, but I am struggling with the fact that my son is on the DL right now. You see, after a long and difficult Pac-10 transfer from UW to OSU, he pitched two innings before straining his forearm, and he's been working with the trainer ever since, trying to make his way back into the game. Fortunately, he is in the hands of wonderful coaches. We continue to hope that in time things will improve and he will be on the mound again challenging batters with a fastball that has some wicked movement and a curve ball that breaks late. It's just hard to watch each week of the season slip by and wonder what the future brings.

Have any of you been through this? How did you manage? I just try to keep things in perspective and focus on the good stuff. (By the way, if you haven't heard of it, I'd like to recommend the book Focus on the Good Stuff by Mike Robbins, former Stanford and MLB pitcher. Great food for thought.) So today, I will enjoy watching my younger son play with his high school team. There are only a few games left in this season. And, like Trace Adkins sings - You're Gonna Miss This, I'm going to make sure I soak up every minute of the fun of sitting in the stands to cheer for my son. Then, I'll look forward to celebrating my older son's 21st birthday with him this weekend. Instead of being with OSU at WSU in Pullman, Washington, he'll be home to celebrate. Maybe there is a silver lining in this cloud. But I have to admit, I'm ready for some sunshine.

If you have kids in sports, you know that some of the best tips come from other parents while you watch games on the sidelines. In the countless hours that I have spent with other parents while our children played, I have learned and shared information about things like: how to get stains out of football jerseys, where to find a protective cup that fits an adolescent boy, how to deal with food allergies, which coaches you want your kid to have, which teachers to avoid, and what my kids' friends are up to (which became more and more valuable as they got into high school). Sometimes it's just been valuable moral support as we struggle to do our best to raise healthy, balanced kids.

I have been a sports parent since the day my older son, who is turning 21 this week, picked up the green peas on his high chair tray, yelled, "Ball!" and proceeded to throw them onto the floor. Since then, it has been one sports experience after another as my life has followed the passions and athletic pursuits of my four children. In my desire to encourage their participation in physical activities that challenge them to develop their gifts and potential, I have found myself on the sidelines of youth basketball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, dance, football, swim team, water polo, and baseball. I have to admit that baseball is our favorite from player to coach to spectator, we have a passion for the game.

One of the first things that attracted me to my husband was that he enjoyed baseball. Little did I know what that would end up meaning in my life! We now own BioForce Baseball Academy in Beaverton, Oregon, where he supports baseball players with training and conditioning. Although my role in the business is more on the administrative side, I enjoy learning about fitness too. In 2001, Bill and I attended a Functional Fitness course and received our certification from our good friend and mentor, Tom House (former MLB pitcher and coach and current D-1 coach). The idea that success in sports requires preparation in four areas (physical conditioning, mechanics, nutrition, and mental-emotional) really resonated with me. As a mom, I was especially interested in how I could support my children through better nutrition and mental-emotional strength. Through our experiences as sports parent, teacher, and coach, we have learned the value of another factor in the equation: communication. Open, supportive communication between coach, parent, and player can have an incredible impact on performance.

So here I am today, writing online in an effort to support other sports families. If you are involved in the youth sports world, I invite you to join me in the E-Bleachers. There are so many conversations out there that have been taking place on the sidelines, in parking lots after games, at the grocery store, over the telephone and in emails. It's time to bring them to life on the Internet. Please let me know what you'd like to talk about. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all as we get this online conversation started.

www.dearsportsmom.com

Laura

I think this site is great! My whole family will enjoy a sports place online. I'm not into myspace or facebook, but this looks like a great place to connect with other sports fans. Thanks!