Small fry and I are cooling off from our tour before we go out for some errands. I let Karen choose a story and of course she picked the "deepest" one. So here goes
As the weather has gotten warmer and small fry has been out practicing baseball-big fry comes out and joins us, always not for long. When I have mentioned that big fry has some fine motor problems you have to understand that this is really an overall motor problem. I think he is the only 11 year old who can still not catch something as small as a baseball consistently. He does enjoy swinging the bat and does ok. For this very reason when Big fry asked to play baseball last year-ON A TEAM, we had to tell him no. At his age baseball in Rapid it is cut throat and that is not an exaggeration. So this year he doesn't ask to play but he comes out to catch and hit a few. This particular night he comes out, tries to hit a few grounders for his brother to field and after many misses, he say "I am going inside". After awhile when we are done and we go to find him, he is no where to be found. We start riding through the neighborhood and find him over at the house of small fry's coach. The dad is throwing pitches to him, which big fry always asks him to do every time he sees him ( I think he thinks if he practices with SOMEONE who KNOWS baseball then he will magically be awesome at it). They practice awhile.
In his easy going way you can tell in his face he wants it, wants it so bad. To be able to be as good as his YOUNGER brother. To have us come to something just to watch him, instead of being the big brother in the stands. To be as good as all the kids in our neighborhood who are all freaks of athletic genetics (not exaggerating there either) and asked to play with them once in awhile. To be PART of something that is cool. It breaks my heart, I feel inept. I love him for trying, I love him for being vulnerable in front of another adult and saying "hey can you play with me" because he really wants to "get it". I can see the resilency in him, which he doesn't even recognize, or know that resilency comes from being knocked down and getting back up-honestly something his younger sibling often lacks because things are "easy".
And here is the final deep part-my big metaphor for life and something I know he will "get" and serve him well, is what life is about sometimes:
To just keep going up to the plate no matter what keep swinging big guy, just keep swinging.
There you go Karen-hope it pleases you:)
4 comments:
oh man. i knew we had the same story. very, very similar.
big j does ok at baseball but his little brother is home run king. but somehow, on his own, big j has turned to golf and tennis. he loves golf. it's on his own terms. it's a thinking game. he doesn't have to listen to a bunch of insane parents cheer and boo.
i don't golf. jamie doesn't golf. but you know what? we got big j a pass and i caddy for him. walking along the course is very fun, and seeing him light up over a sport he can call his own--little j doesn't want anything to do with it--is worth the $100 pass.
my heart breaks for A, and i feel your pain more than you know. hang in there...and maybe go hit a few golf balls :) this story brings me to tears, but they are tears i share with you...glad you are in my life.
oh gosh. i am amazed at how i have kind of heard this story from carey! isn't it funny how God places different types of kids within families, this CANNOT be a mistake, i am thinking.
my heart breaks for A too, but i know, just know that God has a plan and purpose JUST for him, not for anybody else. and sometimes the 'not so easy' road is what it takes to get to that purpose.
i hope that this story will be continued, cher, cause i will want to know how he (and you) are doing. thanks for telling it :)
Carey-I am so glad Big J has found golf and tennis-Alec loves tennis-again it isn't easy but he likes it. This is why the orchestra thing is cool it is just for him. But as we all know not as cool as sports at this age. It all work out. And I agree it is awesome to have a friend like you to share these stories with-if always feel good to share with someone who "gets" it.
Bobbi-even crazier than different types of kids within families is how friends can be placed within the paths of each other. And you hearing similar stories from Carey.
by the way my word verification is "haridst" at first glance I thought it said hardest:)
It does. Thank you!
I love that man for taking the time with A. What a gift.
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