hey, coach.

Ten years ago, I was the proudest Diamond Darling at Hillcrest High School because I had the cutest boyfriend on the baseball team. I would travel all over the Upstate several times a week just to watch him play, and I was especially loud when he was in the lineup as the pitcher. I would stay up late the night before games to make cakes + bags filled with his favorite candies + cookies + signs to hang on the fence at the entrance to the field, and I would wait for an hour most nights just to get a quick, post-game hug from a stinky boy that I wouldn't be able to see again for another eight hours (oh, the heartache!).

Now, TJ is teaching at the same school where we first got googly-eyed over each other, we have a baby boy that looks just like him, and he just finished up his first season as an assistant coach for the Bryson Middle School baseball team. Things have changed, no doubt about it, but one thing will never, ever change: our story is my favorite story. I didn't make him a sign or bring him a cake decorated like a baseball this time around, but I think he enjoyed seeing (and, let's be honest, hearing) B + me in the stands more than he ever enjoyed those things. I, for one, loved watching him bring his skill set + love of the game + support of the kids together as one out on the field. The final game that we went to was played at the field formerly home to the Greenville Braves, and it was pretty incredible to watch him coach at the same field that I watched him play at when we were both just a couple of seventh graders. And, to top it off, the Bulldogs won!

Not only did I have the most handsome baseball-playing boyfriend ten years ago, now I can say that I have the most handsome baseball-coaching husband today. I'm so proud to call him mine-all-mine!