Birthdays and Baseball

Damon turned 11 this year. He didn't get to celebrate the way he would have liked on his actual birthday, because he had a baseball game. We knew Damon had some talent for baseball when he came home from field day with a first place ribbon in the softball throw. He has always had a good arm, and he is a good hitter, too. He had never played Little League before this season, because I just didn't know about it. I didn't realize that he should have been playing Little League since he was 7. Instead, we suffered through a recreation league in the city that was pathetic.  As such, his skills have not really improved all that much the past few years. He's good at throwing and hitting, but not good at catching and fielding.

Still, we talked him into trying Little League this year, to see if he liked it. He went to tryouts not having thrown a ball or hit a pitch in over a year. And he came home really upset. He said he was the worst one there and he didn't want to play. This is typical of Damon. If something doesn't come easily to him, he gets frustrated and wants to quit. He can be super negative and pouty. But we gave him some time to think it over (and cool off) and he decided he would stick it out. Jeff went to another day of tryouts and said he did fine, and he was one of the fastest kids there. 

The 9/10 year olds were split into two leagues, A and AA. The better players would play AA and the rest would play A. Not surprising, Damon was put on the A team, where at least half the kids on the team were 7-8 years old. And grudgingly, he started to play. We had always talked about how good his arm was, and I told him I knew that he would be a good pitcher. And since he is not good at fielding, he decided to tryout to be pitcher. It wasn't long before he was one of the best pitchers on the team. His hitting got a lot better, too, and overall, his game improved a lot. I loved seeing him in his uniform, I have always been partial to baseball boys.

There were some low moments during the season, where Damon gave up some hits and felt like he let his team down. He had a few times where he wanted to quit pitching because he didn't like the pressure, but every time, he was able to bounce back and pitch again. And he pitched quite well. His team did well, and he was even chosen to be on the All-Star team. That was the game he got to play on his birthday. I told him it was a birthday I know I'll never forget, and I hope he feels the same. It was really fun to be there to cheer him on (he went 3-3 at the plate) and watch his team win.

We both told him how proud we were of him, not just because he made the All-Star team, but because he was able to persevere when things were hard and become so much better. It was a great lesson for him (I hope!) about not giving up, but working harder and learning to deal with pressure.

After his game, we had angel food cake, strawberries and whipped cream (his request for a birthday cake), and he opened his presents. He also got his own package of sushi, which he requested for his birthday dinner. 

After the fourth, he had his birthday party. He wanted to do a late night with fire pit and fireworks. My camera's battery was just about dead, but I did manage to get a few pics before it went kaput.

Playing foosball

Opening presents

Roasting s'mores over the fire

I think everyone had a good time, and it was a fun end to our birthday season for the year.

Damon is a very good, responsible boy. He has started babysitting for me for short periods of time, and even managed to get everyone in bed and asleep one night while we went to a movie. He has become a little more moody lately (teenage years just around the corner) and can be SO negative. Luckily, he's not like that often, and I hope he will learn to find the good in life. We don't know what we'd do without him in our family, and we missed him a lot when he went to Clear Creek summer camp for a week. It's hard to believe he will be starting 6th grade soon. Wow, time is flying!