Today is Jan’s birthday. Although she and I celebrated it this past Monday.

It was a casual statement “Why don’t you see if we can get Braves playoff tickets for my birthday.” Wow, I thought, that would be the perfect gift. Everything fell in place to make it happen.

First, the Braves made it to the playoffs.

Second, She was going to be off from work on Columbus Day.

Third, I found tickets and a place to park!!

The day was set. We got up Monday morning, took our showers, and put on our Braves Jerseys. The trip to Truist field was filled with excitement. We both love baseball, we both love the Braves, and we were going to our very first playoff game together. Oh course, we have been to many baseball games, but this was different–it was a playoff game.

We arrived at the stadium early and walked around as if we were on a first date. The air was filled with excitement and anticipation. A stop for Chik-fil-a and then found our seats–not the best, but definitely not the worse.

The giant American flag on the field and the National Anthem by Timothy Miller reminded us how fortunate we were to live in this wonderful country where baseball is the national past time–at least that is true in our minds.

We cheered, booed, tomahawk chopped, and took advantage of the “hug cam” often–although we were never on the big screen. And then it came–the Joc Pederson 3 run homer!! We were filled with elation. We stood to our feet and cheered along with 32,000 of our friends. We high fived our neighbors as the celebration reached a crescendo.

The last pitch was thrown and we sighed a sigh of relief–we were now one game closer to the World Series!

The ride home, with my beautiful wife, was filled with wonderful memories of many birthdays we have shared together. We stopped at “Rock n Taco” in downtown Roswell. “Rock n Taco” is really the kind of place we really enjoy. Sat on the outdoor space on the sidewalk and enjoyed the wonderful weather and watching people walk by.

God blessed me to no end when He brought Jan into my life. The 43 birthdays we have shared together as husband and wife have each been special. I love you Jan.

This is my story…