Austin found his true love. Thankfully, it is not drugs, not alcohol, and not a girl. It has a trigger, a barrell, and a whole lot of paint. I had no idea that this love affair would last so long. I recall several years ago when he said he was going to be playing paintball for his little league baseball party. It happened. It was love at first sight. His life has never been the same.
I thought for sure that there would be a break-up; that this was just a fleeting faze. He would surely move on to another love. I was very mistaken. The old adage is true; once you find your true love your life is forever changed. He spends countless hours keeping the relationship strong. He is either at the field practicing with his team, working to pay for this expensive love(he works at a paintball store) or making field layouts and strategies on the computer to make his team the best. He eats, drinks, and sleeps paintball.
He has found that keeping this love strong takes hard work, time, dedication, money and mostly supportive parents. This love has taken him across the country far and wide competing against the best of the best. He has experienced the feeling of being on top, winning it all, taking the gold. However, he has also felt the heartbreak of defeat, losing a tournament by a few points, disagreements with teammates, coaches and lastly referees. But, like any love affair, given a few days to think about it, he is back and fully committed to the relationship.
I do worry about this long lasting love affair. But, Austin continues to get excellent grades, high scores on the A.C.T. (yuk) and he is a parent's dream child. But, unlike most children's love affairs, he actually insists that his dad be involved. Randy has become his team's coach and has even played a few tournaments with him. They have found this to be a very bonding sport. I'm not sure who gets more butterflies before tournaments, Austin or his parents. We love talking to Austin about paintball, watching and talking about his tournaments and seeing his eyes and demeanor light up while talking about the love of his life. Yes, we enjoy his true love and we don't see a breakup in the near future.
3 comments:
Isn't it funny that while writing about both of the boys activities, Randy is very involved. To the point of being as excited or more than they are......Gotta love a supportive dad. Oh and you're not bad either.
I loved the analagy of the love affair.. How clever and creative.
that was clever!
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