Merry Christmas to everyone! For those celebrating, I hope you enjoy the holiday with friends and family. And for those who don’t, I wish you a day full of peace and love.
One of my favorite Christmas songs, “The Christmas Waltz,” originally by Frank Sinatra, contains a line that says, “It’s that time of year when the world falls in love.” And that couldn’t be more true for me this year.
My wife and I welcomed our first child into the world last week. An early Christmas present and the best we’ve ever received.
Robert Callum Blanco was born a healthy boy in DC. Callum and mother are doing very well. He is an absolute bundle of joy with five tools: cuddly, soft, smiley, squeaky and just plain sweet. And his mother is a superhero by my standards.
Usually the one who asks in interviews: I’ve answered a lot of questions about what fatherhood is like for me. The best answer I have come up with in these early days is understanding.
I understand what my wonderful wife Megan has been through these past nine months carrying a growing baby. I understand what she had to go through to give him life. I will never go through them myself, but I understand them.
I understand why baseball players are a little anxious in the days leading up to their paternity leave. (The rides to and from the hospital were not my favorite car rides I’ve taken.)
I understand why they are so overjoyed yet sad about returning to the team after what I now know feels like the longest and shortest days of your life.
I understand why players bring their kids to the clubhouse so often, regardless of age. And I understand why their families often come along on long-season road trips. I always look forward to spring training, but it’s still December and I’m dreading the thought of leaving Callum for even a day, or at least a week or so, in March.
And I understand why people say parenthood is the best and hardest thing you’ll do in your life.
In his short time with us, I was never away from Callum for more than fifteen minutes, and even that felt too long apart. If I could, I would stare at his face 24/7.
In fact, I was staring at him as I wrote this after a particularly eventful late-night feeding session (more like a very early morning, actually). I would still take over during bullpen sessions at this point.
For over an hour and a half we went through three different bottles, two diapers and two outfits, plus a change of shirt for myself. It was like a bullpen game with all the changes, except I was my own backup as I let my wife sleep over to get some well-deserved rest.
Callum has not only given me a new insight into life, but also patience. I have never in my life been so patient in everything I do, with my mind usually running as fast as James Wood around the bases.
It was a difficult year for our world in 2024, especially outside of sports. But on this Christmas morning, it’s hard not to think about the themes we hear so often this time of year – love, peace, compassion – and try to apply them to our daily lives as we move into 2025.
People will always disagree about politics, sports and current events. But we all like the same thing. We all can’t help but smile when we look into the eyes of loved ones, especially our own children. I understand that now.
On the baseball side of things, I hope Nationals fans exercise a little more understanding and patience as we push through this offseason and get closer to the new season.
Have the Nats made much of an impression this season? No, certainly not compared to what some other teams have already done. There are still some things on their wish list, even after signing right-hander Michael Soroka and trading for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. There’s no guarantee that general manager Mike Rizzo will find a major acquisition under his tree this morning. (That would be something completely different to talk about…)
But it’s only December 25th. There are still two months to go before the Nats report to West Palm Beach. Max Scherzer, Daniel Murphy, Howie Kendrick, Brian Dozier, Ryan Zimmerman (twice), Kyle Schwarber, Brad Hand and Jon Lester were all signed or re-signed over the years.
Rizzo still has time to make more moves. A little more patience may be required.
Fans also need to understand what this team is working towards. Yes, it was exciting to see all the young players step up this season and show signs that the Nats could finally turn the corner after five long years since the World Series title. Yes, expectations for next year have grown exponentially, and adding some veteran talent would help in a potential playoff push.
But understand that this team is a little ahead of schedule. The long-term goal is to be back in contention for a decade-plus in a few years, and not go all in and maybe sneak into the playoffs in 2025. They are still waiting for the development of some young pieces,
The love for my son has given me much more understanding and patience. Maybe it’s the warm feelings in the air this time of year that make me feel this way too. Or maybe these are just frantic thoughts from a sleep-deprived new dad. But I hope you take these words to heart, whether it’s in your daily life or in your Nats fandom.
We are lucky enough to be with family at Christmas. We’ll eat, drink and be merry while belting out jingle jammies all day long. Not just Callum. Adults too. As it should be.
We will toast the new additions to the family and the memories of those who are no longer with us. I will look to my father, my hero whom I admire so much, as a guiding light for my own journey to fatherhood. And we will remember his father, the greatest role model in our lives, who passed away three years ago.
But now we can see a little bit of my Abuelito more often. The general consensus so far is that Callum looks a lot like him. My son definitely has my eyes, which I inherited from my grandfather. I so wish he could have met his great-grandson just once.
However, my Abuelito is still with us in spirit. Callum will grow up calling his paternal grandfather ‘Abuelito’, just like I did. My father wasn’t sure if he was worthy of being called that. I told him that Abuelito is more of a mentality and lifestyle than a name. He couldn’t be an Abuelito anymore.
His father will be with us today because Christmas is always magic. Yes, I still believe. I always have and I always will. It even started to snow as I wrote this early Christmas Eve morning. Why isn’t that a sign?
And so whether you celebrate the holiday or not, I leave you with an ongoing variation on “The Christmas Waltz”…
Every story you read seems to say, “Merry Christmas, may your New Year’s dreams come true.” And this post from me in the New Roman Times wishes you and yours the same.