Lil Ron

I'm awake early for a Saturday morning. My mind is spinning with the reality of what has surrounded my family's little world the past few days.

On Thursday, I woke up as the mom of Liam, Jack and Garrett. But 48 hours later, I am the mom of Lil Ron, Jack and Garrett.

Lil Ron's photos and interviews have gone "viral", and suddenly, nearly everyone in the U.S., perhaps around the world, knows the face of my eldest son with a mustache and a balding head.

I shake my head in amazement.

Truly, we did not set out to dress Liam like Ron Washington to gain any notoriety. Liam wanted to be an "old man" for Halloween, and that included shaving his head, wearing a bow tie, and carrying a cane. But when his school announced they wanted kids to dress for career day instead of Halloween, we knew we needed to tweak Liam's costume.

Rick suggested Ron Washington, and we laughed at how much Liam might actually look like our Texas Rangers' manager. Liam loved the idea, so the deal was set. It was a simple costume that made us laugh and has apparently made a few other Americans chuckle.

I cannot tell you how many times my cell phone has rung. I have no idea how some reporters even find my number; I guess I'm sheltered/innocent in that way. We can't leave our house without being spotted by someone who recognizes Lil Ron. I now understand why celebrities try to disguise themselves when going out for coffee.

The 5 of us, plus my mom, went to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant last night. People all over the restaurant pointed and whispered to one another, "Is that him?" As we sat at our table, Liam noticed people smiling and pointing, and he loved it. As long as he enjoys it, we'll roll with it.

The interview requests continue to pour in. Even as I got up this morning, there was a voice mail with another invitation to a live show this afternoon. I'm not sure if we'll make that one, as Liam has a game this afternoon. He might just want to be a Dirtbag today. We'll let him decide.

The biggest news of all is this: we're going to game 4 of the World Series on Halloween night!!! The Rangers promotion office called me yesterday and asked if I could please sit down. "Lil Ron's picture has reached the top executive level here. We all love him. If you're available, we would like for Lil Ron to have two tickets to Halloween night's game!"

'If we're available...'

"YES! Yes, we're available! Oh my goodness, I can't believe this," I shouted.

"And," she continued. "We'd like him to say 'Play ball!' at the beginning of the game. Do you think he could do that?"

Oh my word! Yes, I'm sure he can say that. We'll practice it with enthusiasm all weekend!

So...y'all be sure to watch Sunday night's game. I'm not sure if that portion of the pregame will be live, but if it's not, maybe they'll replay it.

As a sidenote, Rick and I were going to have to duke it out to figure out which one of us "deserve" to take Lil Ron to the World Series. But my man was able to buy two more nose-bleed tickets, so Lil Ron will take his parents and lil bro, Garrett. (Jack won't last that long at a game, so he will stay with my parents.)

Can I just tell you HOW EXCITED WE ARE?! I'M SO EXCITED I COULDN'T EVEN SLEEP LAST NIGHT! AND NOW I'M SHOUTING AT YOU!

Sorry.

Yes, we're enjoying Liam's "fifteen minutes of fame". It is extremely unexpected, but we are grateful for the outpouring of positive support we are receiving from so, so many people.

When all of this dies down and life goes back to normal, Liam will still be Liam. And I'll still be proud to be his Mommy. I've had the privilege to kiss him good night for 7 1/2 years, and that will continue for as long as he will allow.

If you're interested, I'll post some links to some of the interviews and online articles where Lil Ron has appeared thus far:
Channel 11 news (CBS) This was Liam's best interview so far! He was his typically nutty self.
NY Times
Dallas Morning News He is the Fan of the Day.
Sports Illustrated Scroll down to the section titled "WASHINGTON'S LITTLE LOOKALIKE".

Thank you to the many, many friends and family and even strangers who have passed Liam's picture along!