Let's go, Nats!

It was a day of lovely Harper-related Nats surprises!

Throughout my pregnancy, we joked that if the baby was a boy we'd name him Bryce and a girl we'd name her Harper. Like Shea, Harper began attending Washington Nationals games in utero, by virtue of her parents' season tickets. Two weeks before her birth, we attended the Nats season opener and watched Bryce Harper kick off the season with two home runs. Literally batting a thousand. Baby Harper kicked me silly. 

Shea's early and continuous exposure to the Nats may have created a monster. He loves to play baseball and he recited the Nats lineup as he comes to bat, assuming the identity of a Nats player at the plate. "Jayson Werth. Bryce Harper. Ryan Zimmerman. Ian Desmond," he announces in his high pitched little boy voice. In between innings he uses his wheeled popper toy to "clean the field" that is the carpet in our basement. 

As I unpacked and cleaned Shea's baby clothes in anticipation of our baby's arrival, I was especially excited to unpack his tiny little Nats onesies. He went to his first ballgame at just a few weeks old, and I was excited to have that experience with his sibling, too, to watch big brother Shea teach "new baby" about the President's race and about Bryce Harper, his favorite player.

That very last game during my pregnancy was on April 1st and leaving was rough - we were taking public transit, it was crowded, and we could not get a train or bus to save our life. Lou kept dragging us block after block, and I was utterly miserable. I was just so ready to not be pregnant anymore. 

Going to baseball games now comes with a bittersweet twinge of pain. It is hard to be surrounded by a sea of backs reading Harper. It makes it absolutely impossible to forget, even for a moment, her loss. That has it's pros and cons.

"Maybe I should wear a Harper jersey," I told Lou. "Do you think we could find someway to add "bean" to it?"

Today my darling husband gave me this:

I can't wait to wear it to our next game.

An envelop from the Nationals arrived in the mail today. Not an unusual occurrence. As season ticket holders, we get a lot of Nats mail. But this one was addressed to all three of us - Lou, Carrie and Shea - which was odd. Curious, I opened it.

I was stunned to find a condolence letter from the Nationals on the loss of Harper. Our wonderful friend, Nate, had told them our story, and they were actually kind enough to write.

We'll never get to take Harper to a game. But the shirt, the letter, the acknowledgment of her existence... maybe it will make that sea of Harper shirts bring in a tide of nothing but joy one day. And maybe I'll get to use that Nats onesie again one day, after all. 

Let's go, Nats! (They're tied as I type this - maybe all of our good Nats karma today will help lead them to victory....)