April 3, 2017

When Austin was just a little guy, he practiced sports for hours and hours.  He was so obsessed!  Everyone thought it was the most adorable thing to see how incredibly skilled he was...for a two year old.  He loved basketball, football, golf, and baseball.  He was shooting baskets as soon as he could walk.  And he carried around this little set of golf clubs EVERYwhere we went.  When he was two, he got a baseball mitt for Christmas.  He was overjoyed!  He got so good at playing catch, but especially good at batting.  And pretty soon he was making baskets from ten feet away, with perfect form.  He was a novelty whenever anyone came around.  Its was like, "Oh, hi, come in.  Here, come see what our toddler can do." Ha ha.  Everyone thought he was going to be the greatest athlete ever.

Well, Austin has grown and grown and grown.  And while he was growing, he got kind of lurchy and slow.  He also fell in love with other things, like video games and computers and Legos.  With a lot of practice, he became a pro at those too.  We were a little sad to think that maybe he wasn't so obsessed with sports anymore.  In fact, sometimes people would ask me, Does Austin still love sports as much as he used to? And I would pause, because I knew he still loved sports, but I also knew that he had tamed down his obsession.

Well, Austin is in his third season of baseball.  One thing he still loves to do is play all the sports.  He is always asking me to sign him up for things.  He plays flag football, basketball, tennis, and baseball.  And he used to play soccer.  Other than being over a head taller than everyone else his age and a little bit slow, he's been a pretty good athlete.  But not quite the world's greatest athlete!

Austin is one of the youngest on his baseball team.  There are third and fourth graders on the team, as well as second graders like Austin.  But Austin is one of the biggest on the team.  And we've noticed that he's getting better each year.  We've also started to notice that he is quite a good player!  Well, the coach noticed too.  So he tried Austin out as a pitcher.  It was so exciting for me to watch!  Austin did such a fantastic job!  He was getting those balls in there to the catcher.  And he was striking players out and trying so hard.  I could tell that he was giving it his all.  The coaches were all so proud of him for doing such a great job on his first time as pitcher.  I just had to sit back and soak it all up.  Here is my darling, darling boy.  He's only eight years old, just a little second grader, but he's out there pitching like a champ.  And I had to smile to myself as I thought, "Well, finally, all those hours of practice when he was practically a baby are starting to pay off."

He was totally competitive.  He knew exactly what he was going for.  It was so cute!

Way to throw it, Austin!

I would have paid a pretty penny to watch him play that game.  The smile on his face when he struck out a batter was absolutely enough to melt my mother heart.  And the determined way he pressed his lips together when he got ready to throw one in was awesome.

I know sports aren't everything.  But they sure make life a little more fun.  And I love watching my kids learn life's lessons as they step onto a field, or a court, or a diamond.  I love seeing them work hard at something.  As long as I am able, I will drive them to practice and buy them the proper shoes. And I will be in the stands clapping and cheering with every single pitch.