Tonight, Jackson went to his first Tee ball practice. After much debate about whether or not to sign him up, Jason and I came to an agreement that being part of a team would be good for Jackson. Our goal is for him to learn to focus on a common task with other children and socialize with children his age. Our fears are that he will not like it (due to the amount of focus required) or that he will not be as good as the other kids on the team and have his self-esteem crushed. So, we make the decision (as we do so many other parenting decisions) swinging with our eyes closed, and hoping for the best.
When we arrive at the field (on time, I might add...a small miracle in itself), he boldly introduces himself to the coach. A good start...there were at least 2 other kids that I saw who wouldn't even talk to the coach! Team captain in the making here! I proudly watch my son join the other kids playing catch (or really more like chase-after-the-ball-that-was-thrown-into-your-general-direction). I figure my job on the sidelines was to chat with the other parents. I approach a nice-looking couple and say, "Well, I knew we were in trouble tonight when Jackson thought he needed a tennis racket to take to tee ball practice (true story)". The other couple gave a courtesy laugh. Then the dad proceeded to tell me how his son wanted to load his BAT BAG (what 4-year-old has a bat bag?) in the car this morning because he was so excited about practice tonight. As the dad looks back at the field to his future MLB player I notice this:
Yep, that's a tattoo of two baseball bats and the number 24. OK, enough talking to other parents....
The coach starts off by quizzing the players on the important points of tee ball, notably "What's the name of the game we're playing?" Whew...Jackson didn't yell "Tennis". They started running drills like running the bases (in the correct order) and tagging a guy out. I must say, I was really proud of Jackson. He actually seemed interested in the game. He was listening to the coach's directions and was holding his own. He wasn't the best kid out there, but he wasn't the worst either. I mean, really, how much can you expect from a kid whose dad doesn't have a baseball tattoo? He was having fun.
That was the first half of practice. Then Jackson got tired. It was a struggle to get him through the last 30 minutes. He was pulling grass when he was supposed to be fielding. In this pictures you can see how all the other boys are running a drill with the coach, but where's Jackson? Off to himself.
He finally made it to the end without giving up! In my eyes, this was a huge success for his first practice. Don't get me wrong, I think Jackson is very intelligent. All around, he's a super kid. But I've definitely been wanting him to focus on tasks more, especially in a group setting. I think he learned a lot tonight.
And I learned something, too. As we were leaving the field I instinctually grabbed his hand, and walked a few paces with his hand in mine. And then I let it go. Somehow, he grew up on that field tonight. All of a sudden it felt weird holding his hand, like I was treating him like a baby. When did he get so big? After his bath, I tucked him in the bed and told him how proud I was of him. Then he laid on his blanket and sucked his thumb. He's still my little boy. I think it's going to be a great season.
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