The Queen’s Chronicles – Signing Day

The Queen’s Chronicles is a way for me to share a bit of a scrapbook of our every day happenings. Today I’m sharing the details of Dillon’s signing day! Such an exciting time for Dillon and I can hardly believe senior year is halfway over. I keep reminding myself this time next year he won’t be living in my house but will be off on a new adventure.

It’s so bittersweet to spend so many years raising a child and providing them all the skills they need to navigate their life without you and then actually watching them leave. It’s conflicting to feel incredibly excited but also a little anxious. Thankfully this is not my first rodeo so hopefully come August I’ll be ready!

The baseball recruiting process has it’s ups and downs. It starts so incredibly early and kids throwing high velocity often commit to colleges as soon as their freshman year. Do you know any teenage boys? They all develop differently. So while Dillon was 6’3″ at the end of his freshman year, he had grown so quickly his muscles had not quite kept up.

He entered the summer throwing well and had 4 Division I schools contact him with interest. By the end of June he became incredibly inconsistent and as a mom it is just really stressful. You want the best for your child but you cannot help them at all. In order to combat my own anxiety I just began asking God to open the doors that should be opened and close those meant to be closed.

All calls pretty much stopped by the end of the summer and he was pretty frustrated. He continued to work towards his goals during the fall and had two outings left for November. At the first he caught the eye of the Rice recruiting coordinator and they invited him for a visit. Rice had never been on his list and he had his heart going somewhere further away from home.

So on our way to Baton Rouge early last November for a camp at LSU, his preferred choice at the time, we stopped at Rice. Not to sound cheesy but the rest is history. The entire time we were meeting with the coaches, touring the campus and meeting with the academic counselors I just felt an incredible sense this was the place Dillon was meant to be.

Remember my prayer? The last thing the head coach said to us before he sent us off was “oh, just one more thing I like to let everyone know….I love Jesus and He is a big part of my life.” I seriously was like really God?

So when we got to the car at the end of the visit, imagine how happy I was to find Dillon and Keith were also feeling as impressed with the entire visit as I was.

We continued out trip to Baton Rouge. Dillon pitched at a camp and did so well but there was no offer. Door closed. For the record, I don’t really look good in those LSU colors anyway. 🙂

It only took two weeks of discussion before Dillon made his final commitment to Rice. Now here we are a year later watching him sign! I’m so excited for him and this amazing opportunity.

So here are some pictures of his day!

There were 12 others who signed a letter of intent to play at the next level. So fun to see these kids have a chance at the next level.

And I just love this crew of mine so darn much!

Of course Dillon’s framily was also in attendance. He is so fortunate to have a second family always willing to support him.

Holly and I met when we were pregnant with these boys in a water aerobics class. I never dreamed we would end up best friends both with these super tall boys!

Dillon’s Mimi and Aunt Amy were also there for the big day.

And of course all the baseball guys were there to support him and his buddy Zac who signed with Baylor.

And how amazing to have friends who support you regardless of what school you signed with!

Dillon has been fortunate to play for a great program. Twelve Baseball

Of course there were also these amazing cookies made by a local friend who also made my birthday cake! They were gone in like 10 seconds so I was sure glad I saved a few back.

Such an exciting day and now we look forward to 2020 as he turns 18, his last season of high school baseball, graduation and our last summer with him at home. I hope to soak it all up!