When I was in high school, I would write down a number on my notes during classes over the winter: the days until Red Sox opening day. I don’t remember if I wrote it on assignments I handed in, but I remember a teacher once asking me what the number meant on my notes. Baseball was such a big part of my life that I’d start the countdown when it was still in the hundreds, and I was obsessed with any spring training media days: days when the players take photos and videos for the upcoming season.

Now, I think opening day is this week? Maybe? Possibly Thursday? High school me would be so disappointed in current me, but it got me thinking about how my hobbies and interests have shifted over the years.

Obviously, I’m never going to stop liking baseball, but how much attention I pay to it ebbs and flows—mostly depends on whether I can name more than three players on the Red Sox. I feel like I didn’t follow many of the MLB storylines last season, so I want to make an effort to watch more Red Sox games as well as stay up to date on the league. I’m happy that the Section 10 podcast is back (I used to listen to it a lot years ago, especially during the 2018 season), as well as a new-ish version of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast (I’ve been following the guys of Cespedes Family BBQ forever). Hopefully, those two podcasts as well as actually making an effort will help me become the old Baseball Becky.

I’m also always going to be a football fan… because I like torturing myself as a Giants fan (and Josh loves football and constantly gives me updates; don’t get him started about the new tackling rule). But I used to be so into the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. Again, another thing that stemmed from my high school era. At the moment, I can’t name a player on the team, but 10+ years ago, I could name the entire roster and their hobbies. I’m not sure when I stopped following the team as closely as I used to; it just sort of happened. Maybe that’ll change come the fall, but we’ll see. (I still have too many Crimson Tide shirts for someone who lives in New England.)

My running seems to be less than more these days. Back in 2019 and 2020, I was obsessed over how often I was running and my times and if I was a “good” runner. Now I’m like, I don’t know where my running sneakers are. (JK I actually do: they’re by the front door.) I’ve always been a fair-weather runner, that hasn’t changed over the years. I don’t like running outside when it’s cold or rainy or gross. I do miss having easy access to the indoor track on campus now that I’m WFH, so I have to hope the weather is warm and not hurricane-gust winds so I can go outside. I have a handful of 5K races that I know I want to do this year, and I know I’m not going to ever win them, but I still enjoy doing them. And if I can get into a routine of running a few times a week around a 5K distance, I think I’d be happy. I’m just at the mercy of the weather in New England.

I haven’t been writing nearly as much as I used to, especially on here; I just haven’t felt inspired or feel like I have anything good to say. And WordPress doesn’t seem the same as it used to a few years ago; I feel like bloggers have fallen off, and I’m only interested in a handful of bloggers now. And I wonder if people actually want to read what I’m writing? (Besides my mom and Josh.) I like to use my blog to chronicle our trips and adventures as a place to look back on them, but do people care about my ramblings? I miss writing my “Becky Yells About Sports” posts, but sometimes I’m just yelling at the clouds. And I’ve been tossing around the idea of a short fiction story; I sat down a few weeks ago to work on some notes, but I’m questioning whether that’s even worth it since no one will read it. Josh says I should do it if it makes me happy, and I do miss writing fiction.

The one constant, though, has been my love of reading. That has not changed one bit; if anything, I’m reading even more. Well, I gotta now, especially since I have a book tattoo on my right calf. But I’m glad that this is a hobby I’ve stuck with, but at this point, I just consider it part of my true self. I’m always going to be a reader and will be in the middle of two different books at any given time. I try to read on my lunch break, after dinner, and/or before bed; it’s something I always look forward to as a way to relax and de-compress from the day or just escape for a little bit.

And I’ve picked up some new interests along the way, like volunteering with the local theater group (and usually seeing a few shows a year), cross-stitching (although I haven’t touched my current project in months…), and dance (which I actually really enjoy!). I’m grateful I have a few hobbies to always fall back on or use as a “fun” fact in a group setting. It’s just interesting to see how things have changed over the years, and it’s not a bad thing. Life happens, but I still have those things that make me “me”.