Bailey Montes

Loss is never easy. It is painful and messy. We grieve and cry and rage. It’s hard.

But what comes later, after a time, is the memories. They flood back in and we’re able to remember those we lost. The good times when you laughed and cheered. The bad ones with yelling and fall-outs that both apologized prefusely for later.

We can remember them with their faults and imperfections right next to their  achievements and accomplishments. All the things that made them the person you loved.

No one can take those memories from you.

They’re yours.

“I’ve coached Bailey since he was eleven years old,” Coach William Bobbitt said. “He played for me in tournament baseball.”

“Bailey and I were lazy together,” Junior Alycia Shifflett said. “We watched Netflix, played Xbox, took naps.”

“Bailey was like my little brother,” senior Aaron Saldana said. “We hung out every day, ever since we were little.”

“We were always at his house,” senior Dylan Hutcheson said. “Never sitting inside, playing video games, we were always outside doing something.”

“He was just a hapy-go-lucky kid,” senior Will darland said.

“The cockiest guy on the field,” senior Hayden Proctor said.

We can remember the moments that make us laugh and shake our  heads.

“Sometimes we wouldn’t hit it to him and he’d throw a hissy fit and sit down,” Hayden said. “Criss cross applesauce, right there on second base.”

“He would make me laugh,” Alycia said. “Whether it was playing Spanish music and dancing like a dork, tickling me, or my personal favorite, mooning.”

“Talented, cockey, and happy,” Dylan said. “But it wasn’t a bad cockey, he was a baseball player, competitive.”

“He’d talk back to Crouch, always mess with Bobbitt,” Will said.

“Bailey was always happy-go-lucky, he would crack a joke or two,” Bobbitt said. “Always had a smile on his face.”
We can remember their shining moments, the ones when they had their arm thrust straight up in the air in victory.

“He had a great attitude towards the games,” Aaron said. “Baseball was his heart, he was a competitor.”

“He was a special kid, very good athlete and a very, very good pitcher,” Bobbitt said.

We  can  remember the things that made them light up with joy, the things  they were dedicated to.

“Baseball was his love and passion,” Bobbitt said. “He knew he had to get classes out of the way to do the fun, the baseball.”

“He was the most motivated person I’ve ever known,” Alycia said. “So dedicated to his sport.”

Every moment held on to. Every memory precious. Every recollection to a time when they made us smile, or to a time when they made us furious, is close to our hearts.

“Bailey was the type of friend to always be there,” Alycia said. “Whether he was mad at you, or even if you weren’t really his friend at all. If you showed that you were down and needed help, he would do it all to make things better.”

“He was very well liked,” Bobbitt said. “Everybody that’s been a part of Rider baseball liked Bailey. He was very out going, fun, and good natured.”

“He was like a brother,” Dylan said.

And even when we had to say goodbye, we still think fondly of them almost 24 hours a day. We still feel like they’re right there making us laugh once again.

“Bailey has brought me all the happiness in the world in the two years I was given with him,” Alycia said. “And I am truly blessed to have been given the chance to love him with all of my heart and him to love me the exact same way.”

“We’re sure going to miss him,” Bobbitt said. “We’re going to try to do everything we can to play hard for him. And remember him.”

“We love and miss him,” Will said.

The loss is always hard. But they didn’t live their whole life just to be a scar on our hearts. They lived to give us smiles and frowns, to make us laugh and cry. They lived to leave unforgettable moments behind that linger with us.

We can remember them, and it’s okay.

They may have been ripped from our arms pre-maturely. Way too soon. Way too hard.

But those memories are ours.

Forever.