boys-n-baseball

I'm not one of those obnoxious parents that think that my kids need to be good at sports to be a successful person. In fact, I hate those people. Honestly, I wouldn't care if my kids didn't play sports - then I wouldn't have to be around those other parents. But, I tell you what - Isaac may be a pro in the making. And if he is, then all the trouble he has caused along the way will be worth it. It started with the rock throwing that hasn't entirely subsided. That kid can launch a rock...which he has done at the neighbor's windows and gotten the cops called on him...that is another story entirely... and at my new car that I had owned for 1 week. But now he can hit a ball being pitched to him about as hard as I could. I was pitching to him in the front yard last week and he hit it right back at me...and hit me in the mouth. No time to react. This 3 year old hit a wiffle ball back at me so hard that it made my teeth cut the inside of my lip. Batting next in the lineup was Tim. First, he hit a rocket into my shin. Not a huge deal. Then, I pitched a ball to him, leaned over to pick up another ball, and he hit a ball squarely on the top of my head as I was leaning over. At this point I was not pleased. Being the butt of every joke and the target of every misplaced throw growing up with 2 older brothers, I don't have much of a sense of humor in this department. I informed them that the next time I got hit, I would no longer pitch and go inside. YES - I KNOW - they have no control over where they hit it, they are little boys - but I was having childhood flashbacks! Timothy tried to act serious about it, but could not suppress his laughter at me and said, "Mom, I'm sorry. My giggles are just coming out." Which made me laugh...even though I didn't want to. Baseball is in their genes. I just want them to grow up loving it, playing it, and making memories with their friends. As long as they are doing that, I'm happy. And please, if you see me acting otherwise throughout the years, please slap me as hard as you can back to reality.