Halley Rossler

I wanted to capture each of the events for both boys so I decided to make it a two part post instead of one long post.

Now to our Jackson Parker who played his last official baseball game of the season. Jackson and I held the fort down this week. It was a busy week with American Ninja Warrior Camp, nightly swimming lessons, and baseball, but we did it and we had fun.

Jackson is used to Paul being at his games coaching on the field, but unfortunately he was stuck with me today. Paul told me when Jackson goes up to bat to tell him to “scrape the table and keep his chin on the ball”. I tried my best. I was more worried about making sure he was listening, following directions, and being respectful. Again, the Mom struggle is very real.

When Jackson was up to bat I was not comfortable yelling out because I didn’t want to look like the crazy Mom coaching in the stands. Well, he struck out the first time he was up to bat. I I texted Paul immediately and this was his response.

The next time Jackson was up to bat I did what I was told and I yelled like the crazy Mom coaching on the sidelines and told him exactly what Paul texted me. Well, it worked because he hit a home run and everyone on both teams cheered him to home plate. I was so mad at myself for not having my camera on to catch it.

I didn’t stop prompting him each time he was back up to bat. The next time he almost stuck out so I thought maybe my prompts were just a fluke, but I kept on telling him to stay calm. The next two times he was up to bat, I did my job and told him to stay calm, scrape the table, and keep his chin on the ball. It worked again.;) He hit a triple and a single RBI the next two pitches.

This is a video of Jackson hitting a triple. Yes, I’m yelling on the sidelines.:)

My favorite part about watching Jackson have success in baseball has nothing to do with sports or the game. It has everything to do with seeing him feel successful and proud of himself for working hard to achieve his goals. Last night he set a goal and said he wanted to hit the ball and run all of the bases. That’s exactly what he did and I could not be more proud of him.

I can’t begin to explain how much Jackson self esteem and confidence has grown this year. He holds his head higher and he does not talk about being the “bad kid” anymore, which fills my heart. I believe his growth is a combination of the right teacher this school year, the best school for my boys, church leaders who love him and build him up, and finding a sport he loves that he can play with his daddy. I noticed he does not chew anything (shirt, fingers, etc) on the baseball field so I know he is not worried when he is out there. It’s a great gift to my souls to see him doing well.

Despite the many mistakes we make as parents, and I make a lot of mistakes, our kids will still grow and overcome in life. Both of my boys are still growing and healing and thriving more and more in their lives. The past three years have not been easy and I know we made a lot of mistakes along the way since we were given guardianship our boys. I have to remind myself daily that I’m not in control of anything. God is in control and His hands are on my boys’ lives and their is a reason we get to be their parents. I have to keep giving this parenting gig to God and trusting Him with my boys and praying He continues to heal their hearts and mind. That’s one of my biggest my jobs as their mom and I’ll gladly keep doing just that along with taking pictures, videos, and yelling from the sidelines when they play sports.