Baseball Moms

This is N's first season playing organized baseball, and I have to say...it's done him a world of good.  It's not just getting him involved in the game he adores, but the boys on his team are such great boys.  They joke around and cheer each other on, and always have a good time.  They play well together, and they work really hard.  He's found some really great teammates and some amazing friends.

Then, there's his coach.  I can't say enough good things about this man.  Because of him, N (and his teammates) have truly learned the game of baseball.  He takes the time to get to know each kid, his strengths and weaknesses, and he listens to them when they tell him what position they're "DYING" to play.  He may not always agree, but he's always willing to let them try.  He breaks down the fundamentals to where everyone gets it on their own personal level, and he's always encouraging in his praise and instruction.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...  There are those who should play, there are those who should coach, and every once in a while, you come across someone who should play and coach.  He is a coach through and through.  He has a love for the game that is obvious in all that he does.  He takes the time to mold these boys into the best players they can be, pushing them to achieve the things he knows they can before they realize they're capable.  I think we've been spoiled this season.  I'm kind of afraid of what's going to happen during the draft in February...

And then, there are the baseball moms.  I knew from the get-go that I would be a baseball mom.  I go to every practice, and I've gotten to know most of the ladies who these other little boys call "mom."  There's always that one in every group that refuses to be social, but the rest of us talk our way through practices and games and cheer everyone on.  It's comfortable, and these ladies are some of the most down-to-earth women I've ever met.

N's "best friend" on the team is also an "N" and it just so happens that his family lives in a house that once belonged to someone in my family, so I knew we'd be friends. She has four kids, and I don't know how she does it...because I struggle with the two that I have.  One of the other moms has the most adorable little girl, who wants so badly to play ball like her big brother, but she can't get her pink glove to close around the ball, and she gets so mad!  Another mom has boys on both of our coach's teams and is always there...working the scoreboard or helping out, giving all of the other moms handy tips.  Who knew you could use regular old Listerine as a mosquito repellent?!  I had an opportunity to talk to another mom tonight.  She's somewhat recently divorced and is such an amazing Christian woman.  We talked for quite a while tonight, and I'm just in awe of how strong and solid she is in her faith.  I aspire to be like that.  (Her son was cracking me up tonight, singing "Blinded by the Light" while staring up at the lights surrounding the field.) 

Tonight, while talking to these great ladies, another one mentioned something about how her son would be going back to see his mom back east soon.  As she kept talking, I found out that she and her husband (whom I took to be this boy's parents) are actually his aunt and uncle.  His mom, a single parent like myself, had just taken a very time-consuming job and didn't want his childhood to suffer, so her baby brother and his wife stepped up and took him under their wing...from the east coast to Texas.  My heart skipped a beat when I learned how selfless these two people are, jumping headfirst into the parenting game with a 5th grader, going "0 to 80 overnight" as she described it.  They are loving and caring and treat this boy as they would their own child.  I'm in awe of both of them.

Aside from the mom who doesn't talk to us and the coach's wife (who was pulling double duty at basketball practice; their sons play three sports at a time I think), we were missing our honorary team mom.  She does what I would be doing, had she not stepped up first.  We're working together, organizing a special something to show our gratitude to an amazing coach and to thank our boys for being such great team players.  I honestly couldn't ask for a better group of ladies and a better group of boys.  The dads are super-involved and always there too.  It's just how things should be; you put aside your differences and you show up to support your kids and their dreams.  I'll miss them when the season's over, but I'm sure we'll still see each other...and hey, there's always a chance we'll be together again in the spring!

Aubs