Jackson made his first bucket in his basketball career in this morning's game. He insists that it's not his first, but i think he's counting practice or playing around in the driveway. He's played hard all year long, and has had few opportunities to shoot (for a variety of reasons). But the boys have all improved all season long, and it's starting to coalesce for them. Clicking in about passing the ball, defending, everything. That started last week, a game where Jackson got a steal and broke away, dribbling down the court, in front of everyone, hair-flopping and grinning, reminding me of Eric Liddell running in Chariots of Fire.
And then today, he banked in a layup. His gem of a coach cheered louder than anyone.
The dirty little secret, though... neither Julie nor i (nor Jackson's Aunt Leah, who was there too) saw the basket. I've watched 99.9% of all seconds that Jackson has been on the court this season, but at this particular moment, I had just socked Julie in the nose by flipping David upside-down (like he enjoys so much). Julie's eyes were closed in pain, and Leah & i were focused on her when we heard the cheers. I had caught the action in my peripheral vision, but didn't see who took the shot. I knew it came from where Jackson had been, and when i saw the coach's reaction, i knew.
We didn't let on to Jackson that we missed it. But like i said, he was matter-of-fact about the whole thing anyway.
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