NY Mets: Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses in 2021

As the 2021 New York Mets season winds down, I get the same itch I do whenever anything I enjoy nears its conclusion.

It’s the reason why my wife has yet to finish multiple television shows she started even if I demand to know the ending. It’s the same excuse why when summer is over, we all get a little misty-eyed for totally non-allergy-related reasons. Endings suck.

The 2021 MLB season will have its conclusion in a few short weeks. Before it’s over, I just want to remind everyone to stop, hammer time, and then take a moment to smell the roses even if they smell a little putrid.

Not taking the 2021 Mets season for granted

A year ago, we were all feeling a little grateful to have any baseball at all. No one was spared from having to adjust their lives in 2020. Getting 60 games, regardless of the outcome, was a treat to look forward to each day.

Circumstances aren’t fully back to normal in 2021 yet we got a full season of baseball in. Through the highs and lows, it’s hard to deny one thing: it was entertaining.

I usually save something sentimental to say about the season for when it’s actually over. I joined Rising Apple early in the 2018 season and haven’t had the chance to write about any Mets playoff trips. Luckily, I can’t be blamed for their lack of postseason appearances. They had already started their drought a year prior. Now stop pointing your finger at me. It’s rude.

Baseball is, above all else, entertainment. This is a child’s game played by grown men (some who still behave like children) each day for several months. The results matter in the moment. But in the grand scheme of it all, the game provides us with something to pour our energy into.

I know some claim that sports are a distraction. I see it a little differently now. What is it I’m trying to distract myself from? Sports are a part of life. I don’t use them to distract myself. You can bring them along for the journey running errands, doing chores around the house, or spending time with others.

Devoting hours each day to following the Mets isn’t always easy. If you’ve been doing it long enough, you have yet to get the end result you desired. I don’t want to say it’s okay because it’s clearly not. However, with leaves beginning to fall from the trees and change a brighter shade of fall colors and magic numbers possessed by first place teams shrink, I suppose I have reached the acceptance stage of the inevitable.

I don’t write this with grief, despair, or sadness. Instead, I just want to send out a little mid-September message on, of all days, September 11th to remind everyone to enjoy baseball while it lasts. Winters can be cold, mean, and lonely. Baseball is the exact opposite of that.

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I’m going to do my best to enjoy these final games of 2021 while we have them. Getting through the offseason isn’t always easy. Life is always better with a baseball game on even if it’s just in the background.