"I Owe You"

If blogger gave me space for a subheading I would call it: Life Lesson #163.

The Backstory

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but Sal is a huge baseball fan. He knows random facts and tidbits about the sport’s history, players, statistics, ballparks, etc. I mean the man is a sponge and an encyclopedia when it comes to baseball.

His favorite team is the Cleveland Indians. He knows pretty much everything there is to know about the team, past and present, and that’s no lie.

Whereas Sal loves baseball for its history, the players' individual stories, and the statistics, I like baseball because it means sitting in the sun and eating nachos while watching well-toned men in action.

In December Sal recommended I read “The Curse of Rocky Colavito: A Loving Look at a Thirty-Year Slump” which is about the Cleveland Indians. 

(If you knew Sal, you’d be thinking “Surprise, Surprise” right about now J)

He even let me borrow his autographed copy.

In "The Curse" the author contends that the team “tempted fate when they traded away Rocky Colavito in 1960. Young, strong, popular, and coming off back-to-back 40 home run/100 RBI seasons, he was the type of player you just don't trade.

Then, for the next thirty-three years, the Indians slumped miserably, finishing above .500 just six times, never higher than third in their division.”

"The Curse" details Cleveland’s troubles over the years in 20 chapters.

Sal knew I was struggling with this book and told me that I didn't have to read it.

What Sal doesn't know is that the format, not the subject matter, made this difficult for me. I don't read books chapter by chapter. In fact, I pay little attention to chapter breaks. I will put a book down for the night in the middle of a chapter. I don't think I've ever said "okay, just let me finish this chapter". For me books having a beginning and end, but the story itself is fluid. So, when each chapter is a stand-alone story, it breaks my natural rhythm of reading and processing. Like my mind is still trying to tie the previous few pages to the current one. 

I was most successful reading this when I read a chapter, set it down, and picked the book back up with the mindset that I was going to be reading a brand new short story. However, that is not how I like to read. I pick up a book with the intention of finishing it.

On February 27, I finally told him that come hell or high water I was going to finish it by the end of the month.

And I did. Of course I did. I mean, hello. Have we met?

I posted on Facebook that I finished the book (ie met my goal), to which he replied, “I Owe You”.

My response is, “Yes you do, but I owed you too. Remember the snowman?” LOL

Therein lies the life lesson.

Life Lesson #163

"Keeping score stays on the field and out of relationships."

In a relationship, you owe each other all the time. Got that? all. the. time

You owe each other your time, your consideration, and your attention. You owe each other respect, commitment, and honesty. Always. 

Sal wanted to share this book with me and because I love him, I read it. Sometimes, that’s all it’s about. Doing something not because you want to, but because the person you love wants you too.