My Hero of the Week

I was at the park yesterday morning for another ball game; seems like we are there more than at home lately. Jackson had a good time hanging out in the dugout with his team, shouting "hey batter, batter" with them. Then he got a little silly, putting on the blanket I took to keep warm around his neck and saying, "Jackson is a super hero!" At that point, I decided he was "done" in the dugout and let him go to the playground to play for a bit. He played on the swings with his "cape". [I suppose at this point, you're thinking Jackson is my hero of the week, and that would be true as well, though not who I was thinking as I typed this title. ;)]

As Jackson was swinging a friend of ours from church walked by with his son's baseball team. He stopped to tell me about playing kickball with the kids at school during the Cinco De Mayo celebrations. Here is what happened:

"Jackson was just watching the kids playing kickball, so I asked him if he wanted to play. He stepped up to the plate and kicked and missed the first ball. I told him, common Jackson, you can do it! On the next pitch he kicked the ball out and ran to first base. When he got to first base he stopped and put his hands in the air and yelled, 'I did it!' He was so proud of himself!"

So, my hero this week is my friend Mark. First, for encouraging my son to play and then for telling me the story. The magic is, Mark was just as proud of Jackson in that moment as I would have been. It still brings tears to my eyes.