That was the case for me. Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, and Mike Stanley (long time family friend) all got traded to the Yankees and therefore I became a fan and just never looked back.
Although admittedly I am a newfound fan of the Red Sox for a completely different reason. You see the Sox really love children and they especially hold a special place for sick children as you can clearly see every year when they host the Jimmy Fund, and Arley was one of a select group of kids to be able to meet some of the Sox over the last several days.
On Wednesday Arley, myself and a couple other people from Christopher's Haven (the place we are staying at in Boston) were invited by Clay & Lindsay Buchholz to see the Sox play the Blue Jays.
We were granted field passes and got to watch both teams warm-up, meet with the Buchholz family and enjoy watching the game.
Arley & I didn't last very long at the game though because of a mix-up so unfortunately we left at the top of the second inning. It was such a bummer though because we had been looking forward to the game for days. Oh well perhaps next time.
Then yesterday Arley was one of several children honored as a special guest for the 2nd Annual Buchholz Bowl which is a charity event that raises money for sick children as well as for Christopher's Haven.
Arley got to enjoy the red carpet and take photos with all the players that walked by. She even got to meet Wally the Green Monster!
Once inside we walked around to look at the fabulous items up for sale in the silent auction. The 2014 American Girl Girl of the Year Isabelle doll was up for grabs and it was so tempting to place a bid on her!
Anyway, after about an hour of walking around all of the kids were split into teams with either a Red Sox player or a Boston Bruin (I think Shawn Thorton was the only Bruin, but I could be wrong) and then the fun of bowling started. We were placed on a team with JBJ.
Jackie Bradley Jr (or JBJ as he likes to be called) was the most sweetest, genuine, down-to-Earth guy I have ever met. He was very attentive to Arley and helped her carry the bowling ball up to the lane and showed her how to bowl and knock down the pins.
He got down to her level and treated her like an ordinary kid and not one with an illness. I have a lot of respect for him because he was just amazing with her.
Once the bowling really got going we decide to mingle around a little bit. We spoke to and got photos with Tim Wakefield, Jason Veritek, Shawn Thorton, and even Ms. Massachusetts was there.
Mrs. Veritek even sought Arley out after meeting her earlier on the red carpet to talk to her about how she was feeling and her treatment. She even kicked off her heels and helped Arley bowl too!
All of this would not have been possible if it wasn't for Mr & Mrs Buchholz. The work that Clay & Lindsay do for the Clay Buchholz Foundation is phenomenal and should most definitely be recognized. The pair of them are the absolute sweetest and down-to-Earth as well. They gave Arley a night to remember and it was a lot of fun for her to get out and enjoy herself and not worry about being sick for the evening.
If you are ever feeling generous and would like a solid organization to donate your hard earned money to, I would like to suggest it be The Clay Buchholz Foundation or to Christopher's Haven. The work that these people do are so wonderful and there needs to be more recognition for them so that they can continue to help the families of sick kids.
While I may not be a hardcore fan of the Sox out on the field, I am a fan of all of the work they do for children every single year whether through the Jimmy Fund or granting wishes from Make-a-wish or any of the other ways they try to make a difference in a child's life.
And that to me is enough to respect them and to support them, at least when not playing the Yankees...😜 ⚾️🎳
I will upload photos once I have my laptop so keep checking back as they will be added soon. Until next time friends xoxo
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