Opening Day

It's finally here! The start of the 2017 Major League Baseball season.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are hosting the San Francisco Giants today at Chase Field. My family and I will be attending!

Every year the Diamondbacks host a Season Ticket Scholarship and provide tickets to fans who have experienced some financial hardships.

Last year I was laid off after working for an organization for 12 years. It was April 4th. I had taken the day off because it was Opening Day and I had bought tickets for my oldest son and I to go for his birthday which was just a few days before.

I had gone to the store that morning with my youngest and got a text from my boss's boss that I needed to call her when I pulled into the parking lot.

The organization had done several rounds of layoffs in the previous 6 months and so I knew right away that this wasn't good. I called her and she informed my that the company was doing more layoffs and I was a part of this round. She asked me to decide if I wanted to step down or take a severance package. I had until noon to let her know.

I went home and told my wife. This was the first time I had ever experienced something like this and I hope I never have to go through something like it again.

In the end I took the severance package and spent three months looking for a job, before joining a new organization. I had to take a significant pay cut, but after three months without working I could not afford to wait any longer.

I am grateful for my new job. It's hard to believe I've been there for 8 months. My wife doesn't work, so it's been a struggle adjusting to a smaller paycheck, but we've made adjustments.

I shared my story with the Diamondbacks as part of their Season Ticket Scholarship program and they awarded me with a half season ticket package for my family. I couldn't believe it!

They informed me via email in January and the tickets arrived in my mailbox in mid March. The half season ticket package consists of tickets to Opening Day and then every other home game after that as well as a parking pass.

I can't tell you how excited I am for the 2017 season!

My three boys recently started another year of Little League and have games Monday, Thursday, and Friday nights, as well as Saturday during the day. Practices are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

This will make attending D-Backs games during April and May a little tough, so I plan on giving the tickets to family and friends if we can't attend.

I'm also open to sharing with fellow bloggers throughout the season, so if by chance you are going to be in the Phoenix area during the season, please let me know and I'd love to see if I can meet up with you for a D-Backs game. There are several bloggers that live in the phoenix area and I'd love to meet up with you all for a game as well.

Today will be the 4th Opening Day that I've attended, but I think that it will be my most memorable as I've never attended with my entire family.

Play ball!