My little baller,
You’ve got a new handle on the game and as Daddy pointed out long ago, your fierce will and determination, let alone your boundless energy, will serve you well on the court. At the age now where you don’t get upset if you miss the shot, you just fetch the ball and shoot again. And again. And again. And with this beautiful fall weather we’ve been having in New York and Daddy in between jobs, there’s been plenty of time to practice. All while rocking your new Kevin Durant jersey.
“I want to get a shirt Mommy. Like the one Daddy wears. That’s just for basketball.”
At the start of the school year, there were a couple days you were dismissed before Cash, so at your request we went straight to the basketball court. You practiced your jump shot for over two hours and even when Daddy wanted to take a break, you kept going to a total of 51 shots made. Who knows how many you actually took in order to make 51 baskets, but I know it was A LOT. The only reason you stopped was because it was time to pick Cash up from school. “I told you!” Daddy said in my direction, “He’s relentless! That’s gonna be what makes him good at the game!”
I love watching Daddy teach you and how you listen. You are so fortunate to have him as your coach. And trust me, it goes both ways because Daddy has said to me before how he hoped at least one kid would love basketball. Someone who felt passion for the game the way he did all those years growing up. The way he still does. Basketball is what changed the whole trajectory of Daddy’s life and now he’s able to share that with you.
Cash noticed you getting better at handling the ball, so not surprisingly he’s rekindled his interest. The three of you go to the court to do practice drills, suicides and two-against-one games. While you work on your dribbling, Cash is learning to use the backboard as an assist. Just your typical brotherly competition which in the end can only make you guys better, like Daddy and Uncle Corey who played together growing up. They were the best teammates — a truly indomitable force on the court!
Whenever you ask Daddy to take you to play basketball, I look over at him with a smile that says, Be careful what you wish for. As I said, he always wanted a child who loves the game and now he’s got one.
For that reason he’ll never turn you down. He takes you to the court no matter how tired he might be because it brings back memories of his own childhood when he would play from sun up to sun down, shooting in the rain so he could have an all-weather jump shot, and dreaming about one day having a son to teach.
With your continued placement in the 95th percentile for height amongst kids your age Grey, it appears you have another advantage. And one day, not too long from now, you will touch that rim — and fly through the air like Jordan!
I love you Grey Grey. Keep shooting high!
Always & forever, Mom