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Chris Fabry
Married to Andrea since 1982. We have 9 children together and none apart. Our dog's name is Tebow.
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Where We Are Now

After finding and remediating mold twice in our Colorado home, we abandoned ship in October 2008. Because of the high levels of exposure, our entire family was affected. After months of seeing different specialists for all of the problems, we came to Arizona to begin comprehensive treatment to rid our bodies of the toxic buildup. In August 2009 we moved into a larger home, four bedrooms, south of Tucson, north of Mexico. I am doing my daily radio program/ writing from that location. Thanks for praying for us. We really feel it.

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Sunday, May 31, 2009
Andrea signed Colin and Brandon up for baseball this summer. She thought it would be a good idea and I agreed. I couldn't go to the memorial service for her mother Saturday, and this parent meeting was on the schedule, so I took them. I felt proud that I was remembering. I even found the meeting place without her help.

We walked into a middle school cafeteria filled with numbered tables. The sheets listing each team with corresponding numbers were near the entrance. I found their names and we made it to our designated table. Again, I was so proud. Competent.

I wanted to meet the coach and tell him about Colin's diabetes and explain our situation. I wanted to make sure this was a person who would teach our kids well and take care of them. When the time arrived, the group before us dispersed, leaving Colin, Brandon, and me sitting alone. I leafed through a stack of pages in front of me and noticed names of the players (there were only 6) and the rules and regulations. There was no coach listed at the top of the page.

That's when I knew I was in trouble. When the organizer began, she mentioned that we should not worry if there isn't a coach listed. "Someone at your table will no doubt volunteer to be the coach." Colin and Brandon looked at me and smiled.

I don't have the time to do this, and I don't have the energy, and I don't have the knowledge of how to coach baseball. However, something sparked in me when the organizer said, "The coach gets to pick when and where you'll practice." Seemed like a good perk to me, but not enough to push me over the edge.

One other dad who has a child on our team stopped by. He had volunteered to coach the T-ball team for his 6 year old. He seemed just as shocked as I was that he was being asked to be a coach.

"What do you do?" I said.

"I work in corrections. Over at the prison."

I have seen the massive prison south of I-10. "In what area?"

"I'm in education. I help the inmates get their GED. You should see some of these guys. One didn't finish the 7th grade and here he is getting his GED. Their faces just light up."

"It must be very rewarding," I said, looking down at the empty yellow sheet that said, "Name of Coach." Then I looked at my two inmates and back at the blank page. I signed my name at the top and handed in the paperwork.

It feels good to know that the coach will take an interest in my sons. After all, we make up all of the management and 1/3 of the entire team.

It's going to be an interesting summer.

1 comments:

Steph T said...

Congratulations, Chris!! That is fantastic! My husband, Mitch, just finished coaching a 5th-6th grade boys' baseball team. He originally didn't have any vested interest in the team--just a couple friends of ours asked if he would help (he did, after all, coach basketball earlier in the year...they reasoned). He didn't have any experience coaching baseball, and we had baby #7 on the way and due any time during the season. Nevertheless, Mitch didn't turn them down. It turns out that we have a 5th grade boy (our oldest), so our son got to be the first in our family to officially join a sports team. They only missed one game when the baby was born. It was a fun experience for both of them. I hope you have a great summer!