Opening Day and the Passage of Time

Continuing a stretch of bittersweet moments as my wife and I brace for our kids leaving the nest in a few years (here, here, and here):  I am going to the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day game today without my son, a high school sophomore who is too busy with academics and sports practice to continue our tradition of attending opening day together.  I am sure I will have a great time with my friend in the glorious 75-degree sunshine, but I may shed a tear in my beer at not having my no longer little boy beside me!