On Wednesday the 5th, the kids and I met Matt after the game, and walked to the car together. We got there, and he casually said, "So, I'm throwing on Saturday in DC." I was a little caught off guard, strapping child #1 into her car seat, so it took a moment for that statement to sink in. "OH MY GOSH!!!! HONEY!!!!" I exclaimed! I was SO thrilled for Matt, since I'd seen first hand what a long and hard road it'd been, coming back from his injury. We got in the car and he explained that it wasn't really official "news" yet. He was going to spot start for one of the Nationals' pitchers who was having some elbow soreness, and we'd probably head straight back to Harrisburg after the game. But we were both SO excited that he had been given such an awesome opportunity.
I think a lot about how, when Matt first came into the Nationals organization back in '06, we were both sort of thrown into this whirlwind (let's see how many times I can use that word in one post). We were engaged the following off season, and off we went to our first Spring Training in Florida. He broke camp with the team, and we were on such an adventure that year. Now I can't speak for Matt, but I know that I never really took the time to sit back and soak up all the experiences and REALLY appreciate where we were. I think it's really hard not to take it all for granted, and believe that *this* is how your life will be forever and ever. No one ever expects that they will deal with a career-changing injury and surgery, and that life as you know it would maybe not be the same anymore. I've told a lot of people that I believe Matt had Tommy John in 2008 for some obvious reasons, and for some not-so-obvious reasons. He was able to come home to Viera to rehab, help me close on a house that I'm not sure I could've closed on by myself, be with me during the second half of my first pregnancy, AND spend just about every day with our first-born for most of her first year of life. If it weren't for having surgery, he would've missed all of that. So, there is always a silver lining. After Matt's rehab assignment, we assumed that he would join the team once again in Washington DC, and everything would be back to "normal", but things don't always work out the way you think they will. And even after a great Spring Training this year, things didn't happen the way we thought they would. Matt was back in Double-A level baseball, a level we BOTH thought he'd never see again.
Seeing Matt succeed, and get an opportunity like he had two weeks ago makes all the stress and disappointment and heartache so so SO worth it. Seeing him back on the mound in Nationals Park was awesome! For the first time in a long time, I took a step back and soaked it all up. I felt so proud that I'd seen him come so far. It all really does come full circle.
After the game against the Marlins on the 8th, we drove back to PA. The next day, I dropped Matt of at the stadium on City Island as usual. He called me about an hour later to tell me that he'd been promoted AGAIN (haha) to AAA Syracuse! So I picked him up, we packed everything up, and headed out the next morning. What an adventure this season has been so far!
