" Yesterday was a neat day to be part of Aidan's life".

Stories sent to me like this one, is part of the joy of being a grandmother...

An Aidan Story

from Alan

"Yesterday was a special day for Aidan. Not only did he get his first hit at the plate for the season, but he also experienced his first moment on the baseball mound.

His baseball team, the Cardinals, were missing two of their regular pitchers. So, at one point during the game the coach decided to try a new pitcher, who is a couple of years older than Aidan. After a few batters, the new pitcher became upset with all of the hits and walks that he was allowing. The Cardinals' coach went to the mound and called for the rest of the infielders to join him at the mound. The Cardinals' coach asked the new pitcher, "Do you not want to pitch?" The boy shook his head no. So, the coach started asking the other boys around the mound "Do you want to pitch? Do you want to pitch?" All of them shook their heads no. I then noticed Aidan marching in from right field. As he came in, he repeatedly said, "Coach, I will pitch." When Aidan finally got to the mound, the coach heard Aidan. The coach turned to him and said, "You want to pitch, Aidan? OK." He handed the ball over. Aidan struck out one batter before the inning was over. Importantly, Aidan got the ball across the plate well, which is the main objective of a pitcher.

Although the Cardinals lost, the coach gave Aidan the game ball in recognition of Aidan's going to the mound for the first time, for Aidan's base hit (his first for the 2010 season), and for Aidan's producing the only Run-Batted-In for his team. After the game, the coach, who has coached Aidan for three years, left a message on our answering machine. He said, "Aidan, you tell your older brother that you were dealing from the mound today!"
Kristin and I were so impressed that Aidan stepped up the way he did. Aidan told me, "I just need a chance [to pitch], and today I got that chance."

Aidan also later said, "Now one of my birthday wishes from two houses ago has come true. One of my wishes was to pitch."

It was a big day for him."

Alan