My Jefferson Baseball Dragon...

Much to the dismay of my 11th grader, I'm still a doting mom. Here's the thing ... I still can't believe that (on the day I'm posting this) he's an 11th grader who is only 15 school days away from being a 12th grader!! It's almost unimaginable. I vividly remember the day we brought him home from the hospital. I walked through the front door of our cute little house in Auburn. I was wearing an outfit that was too small. I remember putting that dumb outfit on at the hospital and thinking to myself, why am I still this big? Somehow, I thought I would magically drop most of my extra weight between the time I went to the hospital to give birth and the time I went back home. I can be a little naive sometimes - good example of that, I suppose. Anyway, I stood in the family room holding our new creation in my arms and so profoundly I said (out loud) "what do I do now?" Andy suddenly wondered exactly what type of pain medication I had been given prior to being released from the hospital. He lovingly offered to remove his pride and joy from my arms.

We decided early on that baseball would be one of the sports that Austin should learn as a little guy. Andy was very good at baseball when he played in school, so it seemed a natural choice. We planned to sign Austin up every season while he was little in order that he would gain the know-how and experience should he decide to keep playing as he grew older. He began playing t-ball when he was 5 years old. You haven't fully enjoyed life until you have attended and watched an entire t-ball game. Cute, funny, confusing, stressful, loud. All that and more!

As baseball seasons came and went, Austin enjoyed every minute and continued asking each season to sign up and play again. I think it's important to add here that Andy was Austin's coach every season (with the exception of one fall season) until he started travel ball. The coach's son is not an easy position to be in. It's an early lesson in playing any position on the field, when asked, with no complaints. Austin could essentially play any position at a moment's notice and rather well, I might add. :-)

I'm proud of my favorite Jefferson Baseball Dragon and the contributions he has made to the team during the season. The Jefferson Dragons clinched the Region 8AA title last week against North Oconee.

.... Austin then ....

.... and now ....