Everyone is buzzing today about Opening Day. Normally, I would be as well. The new baseball season brings hope -- hope that this will be the year for the Seattle Mariners.

But this year the opening of the season has a different meaning for me, a sad one. My dad passed away in October and baseball was our thing. He taught me all I know about the game, he coached my T-ball team when I was 6 years old and we would sit in his red Chevy truck listening to Dave Niehaus call the games on the AM radio station. I would curl up next to my dad on the bench seat and usually drift off to sleep with the game on.

I was lucky enough to attend a few Mariner games with my dad over the years. He would stop by my house from time to time to see what I was making for dinner and if I didn't have the Mariners game on he would make this comment: "You know the Mariners are playing right now." That was his way of saying, "Turn the Mariners game on!" I would tease him saying, "Why do we need to watch them lose again?"

He was my very own personal sports reporter. He would keep me updated on how the Mariners were doing, the new players and who was currently on fire. He was so cute when he thought the Mariners actually had a chance at making the playoffs, which was usually just at the beginning of the year.

Now, I sit here thinking, who is going to go to games with me or keep me updated?

How am I going to sit and watch the Mariners play without crying?

It's just another first after someone you loves dies, but I doubt they get easier with each passing year.

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