Just got done watching the movie Hardball, with Keanu Reeves. That will give you a pretty good idea what IT is all about. I highly recommend it. 
Friday, I led my preschool in a wonderful rendition of the Hokey Pokey, so when I saw this thread title, ... the timing was perfect! :-) (even though RJM beat me to it!)
Parents who don't do their homework irk me. On both extremes - the kid that accepts the first school that shows interest, to the parent who refuses to allow their 12 year old to play travel when the child has the skills.
So what is it all about? I think because Baseball is such an intimate sport it some how gives us parents a larger sense of ownership where there is none. This translates to parental relationships with their children that are different from other families.
We all want our children happy, but that is the one thing we can't give them. They have to make their own happiness. My son was rewarded today. He returned to his pitching coach after resting in December and 2 weeks of long toss and warm ups. Son has also been working out 3 times a week for 5 moths. The coach started out by asking, "have you been taking steroids?" Son has put on 15 pounds of muscle. When he started throwing, he was throwing harder than ever. The 16 year MLBer was overheard to have said, "Geez, I like this kid." It's not much, but every little bit helps. It puts him in the right frame of mind for the season, it helps him realize the benefit of working hard towards a goal, and he was happy that an experienced coach liked what he saw.
Reaping the benefits of your own hard work is what it's all about.
Parents who don't do their homework irk me. On both extremes - the kid that accepts the first school that shows interest, to the parent who refuses to allow their 12 year old to play travel when the child has the skills.
So what is it all about? I think because Baseball is such an intimate sport it some how gives us parents a larger sense of ownership where there is none. This translates to parental relationships with their children that are different from other families.
We all want our children happy, but that is the one thing we can't give them. They have to make their own happiness. My son was rewarded today. He returned to his pitching coach after resting in December and 2 weeks of long toss and warm ups. Son has also been working out 3 times a week for 5 moths. The coach started out by asking, "have you been taking steroids?" Son has put on 15 pounds of muscle. When he started throwing, he was throwing harder than ever. The 16 year MLBer was overheard to have said, "Geez, I like this kid." It's not much, but every little bit helps. It puts him in the right frame of mind for the season, it helps him realize the benefit of working hard towards a goal, and he was happy that an experienced coach liked what he saw.
Reaping the benefits of your own hard work is what it's all about.
quote:We all want our children happy, but that is the one thing we can't give them.
55mom, loved your story, and I agree, when one reaps the benefits of their own hard work, there's not a better feeling.
But as a parent, I totally disagree with the above quote. I can promise you that my wife and I have given our kids, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years of happiness. It might not be every minute of every day etc....but that is why I'm there, when they're down, it's my job to get them up, when there sad, it's me who will make them happy.
And while I can't be there to always make them happy, hopefully, I have laid the groundwork for them to find what it is that makes them happy more often than not.
Not a jab at you 55mom, I guess just my way of saying "it" from my view as a parent.
working hard - no problem. It is actually a concept I heard about in a sermon years ago. At first I didn't agree, but over the years I've changed my mind.
As a parent we can give our children the foundation for happiness. Love being the most important. Endless other lessons leading to self confidence, and the ability to deal with difficult situations are just two examples. It is what is in their hearts as adults that leads to happiness.
So really, I didn't make the point clear. Taking a child to the latest Disney movie will make them happy as a 5 year old. It doesn't work that way at 15. By then they need to have the tools in place to deal with life. I don't want my children to rely on me to make them happy. Guidance, support, love, patience - yes.
I guess that is what is scary about being a parent... You really don't know if you have passed/failed until it's too late!
As a parent we can give our children the foundation for happiness. Love being the most important. Endless other lessons leading to self confidence, and the ability to deal with difficult situations are just two examples. It is what is in their hearts as adults that leads to happiness.
So really, I didn't make the point clear. Taking a child to the latest Disney movie will make them happy as a 5 year old. It doesn't work that way at 15. By then they need to have the tools in place to deal with life. I don't want my children to rely on me to make them happy. Guidance, support, love, patience - yes.
I guess that is what is scary about being a parent... You really don't know if you have passed/failed until it's too late!
quote:As a parent we can give our children the foundation for happiness.
Well said 55mom! A very succinct post. Having raised four myself, I couldn't agree more.
Great posts....From what is obviously some great parents and people!
quote:Originally posted by 55mom:
As a parent we can give our children the foundation for happiness.
IT, to me, is the experience that results from the game. For some, IT isn't rewarding because the game exposes failure, isn't fast and does not provide immediate rewards.
For others, like me, like Charlie Brown, like Fungo and most who post, IT goes too fast. For me, IT is filled with highs and lows, but in the end, IT is a sense of comfort and ease for the IT his playing the game provided.
For me, IT, the experience of baseball, can be captured in a few days of our son's career.
In May of 2002, his day started with the unimaginable sorrow of learning his beloved Coach Meccage has passed away in the night, just as the team prepared to play its 2nd game of the West Regional. After the team committed to play, knowing Coach Meccage would not have tolerated anything less, IT culminated with a wide array of emotions as his roommate pitched a 6 hitter, his teammates played flawless baseball and he drove in 4 in a 6-3 win that put them into regional Championship game.
The second example of IT began early on a morning in August of 2003 when he called, in tears, to tell us his dear friend and double play partner had been killed in a tragic car accident as he and his Dad returned from watching his beloved Cubbies play in Houston. This chapter of IT ended the following May in the 10th inning of a West Regional semi-final game as he stood on 2B following a 3 run double. As he arrived at 2B, he pulled the dog tag he wore to remember Chris from around his neck and held it in both hands.
The last chapter of IT occurred on a hot muggy night in early Sept. of 2006 in Grand Rapids, MI. As he unbuttoned his sweat stained jersey, we hugged, both of us knowing, but not saying, the words associated with him having successfully played the entire season with tears in his labrum, both sharing a sense of relief it was done. What we did not know then was that the labral injury would end his career, which only one year earlier many, especially our son, felt was well on ITS way to much higher success in MLB.
For me, the next chapter of IT, will hopefully occur on May 25 at Sunken Diamond when, to start the game, he will run down the first baseline...and take his position in the coaches box. For me, the IT will be the pride in knowing his passion for the game continues and that, because of what he can do as a coach, others will learn and share what IT is all about.
A separate aspect of IT is how amazing Fungo truly is in recognizing what we all know exists in IT, but only Fungo thinks to provide a thread in which IT gets discussed.
For others, like me, like Charlie Brown, like Fungo and most who post, IT goes too fast. For me, IT is filled with highs and lows, but in the end, IT is a sense of comfort and ease for the IT his playing the game provided.
For me, IT, the experience of baseball, can be captured in a few days of our son's career.
In May of 2002, his day started with the unimaginable sorrow of learning his beloved Coach Meccage has passed away in the night, just as the team prepared to play its 2nd game of the West Regional. After the team committed to play, knowing Coach Meccage would not have tolerated anything less, IT culminated with a wide array of emotions as his roommate pitched a 6 hitter, his teammates played flawless baseball and he drove in 4 in a 6-3 win that put them into regional Championship game.
The second example of IT began early on a morning in August of 2003 when he called, in tears, to tell us his dear friend and double play partner had been killed in a tragic car accident as he and his Dad returned from watching his beloved Cubbies play in Houston. This chapter of IT ended the following May in the 10th inning of a West Regional semi-final game as he stood on 2B following a 3 run double. As he arrived at 2B, he pulled the dog tag he wore to remember Chris from around his neck and held it in both hands.
The last chapter of IT occurred on a hot muggy night in early Sept. of 2006 in Grand Rapids, MI. As he unbuttoned his sweat stained jersey, we hugged, both of us knowing, but not saying, the words associated with him having successfully played the entire season with tears in his labrum, both sharing a sense of relief it was done. What we did not know then was that the labral injury would end his career, which only one year earlier many, especially our son, felt was well on ITS way to much higher success in MLB.
For me, the next chapter of IT, will hopefully occur on May 25 at Sunken Diamond when, to start the game, he will run down the first baseline...and take his position in the coaches box. For me, the IT will be the pride in knowing his passion for the game continues and that, because of what he can do as a coach, others will learn and share what IT is all about.
A separate aspect of IT is how amazing Fungo truly is in recognizing what we all know exists in IT, but only Fungo thinks to provide a thread in which IT gets discussed.
fungo,
you alway's provoke thought, these post's are great reading as well. thanks all for sharing.
i going to say IT is a collection of memory's, some really good some not so good. very hard to know when you've succeded if you haven't failed.
IT may only take a second, then locked in the memory bank for a lifetime.
you alway's provoke thought, these post's are great reading as well. thanks all for sharing.
i going to say IT is a collection of memory's, some really good some not so good. very hard to know when you've succeded if you haven't failed.
IT may only take a second, then locked in the memory bank for a lifetime.
infielddad - there is a certain amount of melancholy reading your post... from the joyful achievement of coaching at Sunken Diamond to the wistful rememberance of what was...
workinghard - your posts are interesting although I am not quite sure I understand them. It is your responsibility for your kids happiness?
Have you ever heard the story - give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime? Or this one, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink?
I believe parents can (not always) set up the infrastructure for happiness (create an environment where kids can learn happiness for themselves) so if that is what you are saying, then I agree with you.
workinghard - your posts are interesting although I am not quite sure I understand them. It is your responsibility for your kids happiness?
Have you ever heard the story - give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime? Or this one, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink?
I believe parents can (not always) set up the infrastructure for happiness (create an environment where kids can learn happiness for themselves) so if that is what you are saying, then I agree with you.
quote:Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
workinghard -It is your responsibility for your kids happiness?
Have you ever heard the story - give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime? Or this one, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink?
CD-Interpret it however you like. But yes, maybe I as a parent may feel I have an obligation to make sure my child is happy and continues with the groundwork that I laid to remain happy. The key words in your question CD are RESPONSIBILITY and YOUR KIDS!
Still puzzles me when you see something a parent might do different from your parenting, you seem to think it's wrong and you question it. Again CD, we all raise our kids differently and as long as they are positive contributors to society like I'm sure your kids are, what difference does it make to you on how I raise them. We all are shooting for the same goal and we all may have different routes we take.
As for the above mentioned quotes, I think you know quite well I have heard them unless I have been under a rock.
quote:Originally posted by Fungo:
What's "IT" to me .... I'm not really a baseball fan in the sense of watching a game. I have no favorite team, no favorite professional player. I loved the game as a kid and all the things associate with the game, the sound of a well hit ball, the smell of the grass, a well executed play but all of that became nothing but a memory for me for 35 years or so. Baseball to me was --- well, just a pastime, a hobby for others to enjoy. Then my "baseball playing son" came into the picture. I wanted him to experience the same things I did when I was a kid. I did what every father does, we "played" together. He took it much more seriously than I ever did. I really didn't like that. I used to write in his hat --- "It's just a game". Instead of being the leader and motivator I quickly became the follower. I never pushed my son --- I was pulled back into the game. I became a fan, not so much of "the game" nor my son specifically but a fan of the experiences he was having. I felt the highs he enjoyed and the lows he experienced. Overall "IT" was the greatest experience I have known. I was happy when my son was drafted and played pro ball but I was equally happy when he retired. Once again baseball has become a memory for me but the memory is different now. My memories are of a little boy with a ball, a teenager with a dream, and all those things that comes with "IT".
Fungo
Fungo -- THANKS!