"Awwww...."

Bottom half of the 7th and we were down and likely to lose. Ppl started to leave and go home - some of the kids had school the next day.  

Pitch tosses a slider... going away from the batter with a spin. I squeeze by butt cheeks, tighten my lats, charge and SWING like the world depended on it, only to foul tip that sucker.  And I hear a collective "Awwwww....." 

I look over at the stands and dugout and see that NO ONE has left.  The entire crowd was still there standing by the fence.  I couldn't help but laugh... like I disappointed my fans!!  

It was now 0-2.... one more strike or foul and I'm out.  Next pitch was another sweeping slider... and I crushed a single with a defensive swing.  Got on base... nothing major.  Kept the inning going.  As the Nike commercial goes... Folks dig the long ball!  But not today... 

Freshman of the Year

Like Wardell Stephen Curry and his MVP award... SW was voted Freshman of the Year unanimously by all the coaches.  That's like Rookie of the Year honors. And truth be told... I would think he'd make 1st or 2nd team regardless of grade... based on statistics alone.  But there's gotta be a little sharing of the pie going on... you can't have one kid win it all. 

SW's climbed so high and gone so far.... he's pushing bounds he didn't even he know was capable of pushing.  How much prouder can a father be???

女大女世界

 During lunch... after a few days of dropping hints... NN finally came out and said she has a boyfriend now.  She's been teasing and teasing and now it's official.  And y'know... I'm actually ok with it. Did it fit all my criteria and qualifications...? Does it fit hers? Does it matter? 

Happy

Nn said she was very happy today. She was blissful if not in glee. Wonder what caused it? A resolution in friendship drama? A good grade? Or maybe her “boy friend not friend, but close friend” and her moved into the next phase? Geez…

Have a catch?

SW and I had some sorta moment today. He had some time to kill between Second harvest and meeting up with classmates for their project. I suggested getting some fielding practice in and he wasn’t against it – to my surprise. Then he said he wanted to replace his shoes… of course he does. He doesn’t wanna ruin his shoes. So I said… forget it. Deep down I wanted to play, but deeper deeper down, I didn’t want a re-do of the Onitsuka tiger incident where I pushed too hard and creased his shows. This time, they were asics. As I was turning home… he actually insisted. And said it’s ok to get dirty. I triple checked… to make sure he was ok. Perhaps… deep down in HIS core… he wanted to show me how far he’s come since two years ago with his softball / baseball skills.

510

Senior Night or the last game of the year.  I texted SW during the day and told him he was 14 assists from hitting 500 and suggested he asked the coach to let him reach that pinnacle.  

It's senior night... of course the seniors get to start.  Not only start... the coach kept them in the entire first set.  Throughout the set, I kept looking at the coaches.. the bench.. and there was no movement. We got crushed. 

Then comes set 2....  and in comes SW.  Starting with his first serve... all the way to his set winning ace.  It was beautiful and glorious.  One assist after another... one point after the next... one step at a time... climbing closer to that milestone... 498... 499... and then a middle-tempo to Rocco.  500.  The tables were turned... it was our turn to crush our opponents.  Two sets.  Two stories.  Two endings. 

At the end of the night... SW ended up with 510.  Other seniors started rotating in again... and we started to lose again.  Literally like the stock market... SW comes in, stock rises.  SW goes out, stock crashes.  During the party... one of the parents came up to us, "It's such a pleasure watching Joshua play.  It's such a notable difference when he's in there."  Another parent comes up and says, "Rumor has it, Joshua isn't coming back."

And now... the wait begins.  What sport will he play next year? Will he come back? Head over to track? The team is waiting for him to lead... but will he pick up the opportunity?