Today was the big day.  Jack woke up excited to the smell of pancakes and bacon. He was hopeful that by five o’ clock today he would be part of the Brookfield middle school baseball team.  His coach told them that he would post the roster at the end of the day. That made him nervous and anxious all day, so much so that he couldn’t eat lunch or even concentrate in some of his classes that day. 
At last, the final bell rang.   Jack rushed to the locker room as quick as he could, even knocking a couple people out of his way.  As he got near, he saw some of his friend’s celebrating, knowing that they had made the team.   He finally arrived at the list, looking at it over and over again; his name was not on it. He thought there must be some sort of mistake, to make sure, he went and asked the coach if there was another list or if his name was left off.  The coach told him that he did not make the team.  Jack was devastated.  He didn’t know what to do.   Being so upset, he didn’t call his mom to come pick him up he texted her and told her he wanted to walk home.   On his way home, Jack decided to go sit by the creek.  This was a place he always liked to come to when he needed to clear his mind and just think.   He had spent many days through the years skimming rocks on top of the water and looking for big rocks to throw in to see how big of a splash he could make.  He had also discovered that this was a quiet place that allowed him to think about his dad and how much he missed him since he passed away suddenly two years ago.  Jack missed his dad so much and wondered if especially today; his dad would have been disappointed in him for not making the baseball team.  He and his dad used to play baseball in the yard on weeknights after dinner and on Sundays after church.  Baseball was something that they both loved talking about and playing.  Jack’s dad would tell stories from his playing days starting in Little League and all the way through high school.  His dad was a great baseball player and his teams in middle school and high school were successful.  As Jack was looking for a big rock to throw into the creek, he noticed an old baseball.  He picked it up to throw it into the creek but just as he was about to throw it in the creek, he noticed that it had some writing on it.  He decided that he wouldn’t throw it in the creek but would take it home, clean it up and see what was written on it. 
       Jack got home around seven o’clock to find his mom waiting on him at the front door.  She had found out from a friend that had called to check on Jack after baseball tryouts were over that he had not made the team.  Of course, Jack’s mom told him how proud of him she was and that he could work hard and try again next year for the team.  She also knew that he probably didn’t feel like talking too much tonight so she had already made his favorite dinner, fettuccine alfredo with chicken and a salad and had it ready for him to eat so he could head straight to bed afterwards. After dinner, Jack thanked his mom and went upstairs for a quick shower and then off to sleep.  As Jack was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, he realized that he still had the dirty baseball in his backpack.  He decided to grab a wet rag and clean it up.  As Jack was cleaning the baseball, he realized that there were some signatures on the ball.  He was trying to read the names when he noticed his dads name on the ball.  He also noticed other names that he recognized.  These were the names of some of his dad’s teammates from his middle school baseball team.  Then he remembered that his dad head told him one night while they were playing in the backyard that he had hit a walk off grand slam in the Eighth grade to win the middle school baseball championship and that his teammates had signed the ball and given it to him.  His dad told him that he had lost that ball and wished he could find it someday.  Jack realized this was the ball his dad had been looking for all off those years.  Tears flooded Jack’s eyes and he knew that it was no coincidence that he happened to find this ball on this day.  This was his dad’s way of letting him know that he loved him, was proud of him, and that everything was going to be alright.  Jack decided that night, that he would commit himself to working hard and getting better at baseball and that he would make the team next year. 
One year later, Jack made the middle school baseball team.  He played third base and batted clean up.  His team had done well this season and was now playing for the middle school baseball championship.  The score was tied in the bottom of the seventh inning at 4-4.  There were two outs, runners on first and second and Jack was in the dugout making his way on deck.  Before he went on deck, he reached in his bat bag, rubbed his lucky ball that he had found that day at the creek and headed to the on deck circle.  Jack had kept that ball with him in his bat bag ever since he found it and always rubbed it for good luck before he batted.  His friend Sam was at bat.  Sam hit a single which loaded the bases.  It was up to Jack now.  He could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders but he knew he had prepared and practiced for this moment.  Jack took the first pitch and it was a strike, he swung and missed at a great curve ball for strike two.  The next pitch, he swung and immediately, he knew what had just happened.  He felt the ball come off of the barrel of the bat in a way he had only felt one time before.  He knew the ball was headed out of the park and that he had just hit a walk off grand slam to win the championship just like his dad had done many years before.  His teammates lifted him up in the air and treated him like a hero.  Jack knew his dad would be proud of him not only for hitting the winning homerun but for committing to hard work and self-discipline and for not giving up on how dream of making the team.  After the game, Jack asked each teammate to sign his grand slam ball and unlike his dad, Jack put his ball in a case and placed it on the top of his bookshelf so his ball wouldn’t get lost.