As a mildly athletic child and teenager, I spent a lot of my time at the sports fields around the state of Connecticut. My dad was a police officer, so he was usually working, and my sister was a serious dancer, so my mom was usually running her all over the place. So, I often depended on a second set of "parents" for encouragement, rides, and an extra bottle of Gatorade when my parents couldn't always be there. I depended on the Fields Mom.

We all know the Fields Mom. She's at every game, and sometimes the ones that her actual children aren't even playing in (they're running around playing pickle after their batting practice, so she's stuck here, gossiping with the other parents, drinking their Diet Cokes and eating sandwiches from the concession stand). She always has a cooler full of cold drinks, a purse full of gum and bags of seeds, and she probably hosts the team pool parties during the hotter months.

Although my parents did a wonderful job raising me, I was also raised by Fields Moms (and a few hilarious Fields Dads), and they shaped me into the person I am today. I wanted to thank you all for your endless support, hilarious jokes, and rides home.

Dear Fields Moms (And Dads),

1. Thanks for always giving us oranges and other assorted fruit so we didn't pass out during game time. Also, thanks for taking awesome pictures, and watching us when our parents had to be other places with their other kids.

2. Thanks for yelling at the ref, umpire, or coach in our honor, even though we're not even your kids (and that ref, umpire, or coach probably didn't deserve it, anyway).

3. Thanks for yelling at the top of your lungs during every game, knowing the batting order for the team, so you can tell all of the non-Fields Moms when their kid is coming up to bat.

4. Thanks for telling me to keep my head up when I struck out.

5. Thanks for encouraging me, both on and off the field. Even though I'm older now, thanks for keeping in touch, buying from my fundraisers, liking all of my ridiculous Facebook posts, and being an awesome figure in my life, always good for a laugh and a pat on the back.

I'm glad that, since I'm older now, we can go from you emailing these to my mom:

to me sending you one of these in the mail:

Much Love Always,
Your Fields Kid