Spring Is On The Way!

Spring is on the way...and how do I know this? Because BASEBALL SEASON has begun! Truett had his first game tonight...was the first batter...and scored the first run of the 2009 Carrigan Royals season. It was so exciting!

Growing up, I hated baseball. Didn't just dislike, or kind of not be interested in, but really, hated baseball! My brother played everything from little league through High School. I didn't have any Spring activities, so being only 14 months younger than my brother and therefore obviously not old enough to stay at home alone, I was needed to cheer on my brother in every game (READ IN, I was drug there). Couple that with church softball leagues and I felt I spent half my life at the ballpark. Considering I was (and still am) extremely sports challenged, you just might as well have beat me with a stick. I played in the dirt, read a book (this was well before Gameboys), climbed up and down the bleachers and whined for french fries. To top it all off, my mom was generally the "TEAM MOM" so she was the number one fan, in charge of everything and officially the person to yell at my brother to "Get the lead out of your britches, honey!" For me, it was misery. At home, my lack of affinity for baseball didn't improve as our television seemed to only have one channel...TBS. That's right...Braves baseball took up permanent residence in our home, and as far as I know, still does at my parent's house. Seriously, I don't watch baseball at all until the playoffs even now, so to start watching it in pre-season all the way through the World Series is just insane! Truly, baseball didn't have any redeeming factors until high school when I was able to date my brother's teammates...but that's another story.

So my relationship with baseball was rocky until...I had a little boy of my own. A little boy who at 5 played T-ball and at 6 hit one all the way to the fence. A little boy who started at Carrigan's Rookie league in February of 2006 and whose heart for the game has made me proud ever since. Truett's not an all-star. He's usually in the bottom half of his team. He comes from a sports-challenged family and sometimes, it shows! What Truett has, though, is heart. He's the first one out when the inning begins, the first one to the dugout when it's over. He listens to his coaches, is polite and respectful, and well liked by his teammates. Every coach he's ever had has wanted him back. Truett has played on two city championship teams and won some heart-attack games. Through watching him, I finally understood the plaque that my mother had in her bedroom for many years that said "When ball season is over, I'm going to have a nervous breakdown." Now my "little" boy is 10. He's in his second year of minors, and things are really coming together. Tonight, he got a hit and a walk and scored 2 runs. His team won 13-7. Always, though, he comes away thankful he got to play. And I'm thankful that I get to watch. How different life is as a mother! I can hardly wait until Emmett and Wyatt begin little league...in 2012 and 2014. BATTER UP!