Proud to be Mrs. Wallace Bates

The end of a season is never easy.  We're so used to run, run, running... and then there's nowhere to run.  We come straight home from school.  We have all kinds of time on our hands. 

This year, though, it's a little different. To begin with, we played Breathit first round of the districts.  These games are always hard because for years Breathitt has been the big dog, and Jackson has been the little pup.  In the history of JCS, they've never beat Breathitt in girls basketball. Ever.  And most of the time, they've not even been close.  And we're all neighbors.  I mean, thinking about the boys game; you've got one of my favorite cousins (ok, I have a lot of favorite cousins) on Jackson's team, but then there's Alex, one of the ringbearers in my wedding. How do you love people for all of these years and then suddenly stop? 

With all the talk of Jackson potentially closing, there's been a lot of smack talk from both sides. Emotions run high, and I totally get that. I remember what it was like to be a teenager, and I was a smart mouth to boot.  These days, my mouth still sometimes gets me in trouble...

So all of the drama just escalated and escalated.  I was so nervous last night I couldn't sleep.  I wanted this win so bad.. for my girls.  For all of the drama.  But most of all, for my hubby. 

See, there's another reason why the end of this season is hard.  Since August, I've known Wallace is going to be leaving for 9 weeks.  At the beginning of school, it was, "We've still got volleyball and basketball season. It'll be forever." And then after volleyball, it was, "We've got basketball.  That's forever away."

Forever is almost here.  Three weeks.  It's almost like I wanted this season to go on and on, because I didn't want to face those weeks.  Oh, I know he's not going overseas and it's  not a long time like some of my family and friends face, but for this spoiled girl, it seems like a lifetime. 

So tonight came.  I thought we had them at halftime.  We were only down 3.  I could taste it.  He could feel it... but then Breathitt had something to say about it. And I watched him jump up and down.  I watched the tie flop, but he didn't pull it off.  I read his lips, and knew what he was going to say before he said it. 

And I memorized every feature... because basketball season is a long time away, and Texas seems like the other side of the world.

Tonight, I'm proud to be a Jackson Tiger.  All my life, I was a Breathitt Bobcat, and I'm proud of those kids, too.  But most of all, I'm proud to be Wallace Bates's wife.  He may be loud. He may be rude.  You may not like him because  he doesn't play who you think he should play, or he whines to the refs, or he seems like he's mouthing.  What you don't see, though, is a guy that loves his girls like his daughters, and loves kids in general, the guy that every kid in the school hugs, regardless of how rich or poor they are.  You don't see the guy who is just as liked by most of the kids on  the other teams, because he treats them respect.  You don't see the guy that worked three jobs so I could go through nursing school, and who is willing to drive to Louisville two nights in a row so he could be at ballgames in the evening, then back in formation for Reserves the next morning. That's my husband... and win or lose, I am so happy to be married to THE Wallace Bates.