Learning something every day

You learn something every day if you pay attention. ~Ray LeBlond

And sometimes the world MAKES us pay attention: Such was the case this past Thursday. Xander and I went to what was supposed to be a make-up baseball game. Unfortunately, the coach for the other team had confused his times (He coaches two teams back to back and had given us the time slot in which his 3/4 team plays) and so there was no game. We 'rolled with the punchs' and divided our players into two teams. They scrimmaged against themselves. It was an interesting, and for me, a learning experience.

What happened? Well the first 'ah ha' moment occurred when Xander STRODE up to the plate. (We had recently watched a Video Biography of Babe Ruth. I hadn't thought that Xander had been paying much attention...) He took his stance ("NO MOMMY, DON'T CHECK MY STANCE! I'M GONNA DO IT MYSELF!!!") and, having made it quite clear that he wanted pitched balls, not the tee, got ready for action. The pitch came and by derned it, he STEPPED into his swing and swung with all his might -- Quite a bit of might, it turns out, because he spun completely around! Glowing with pride, he looked at the crowd and said 'Did you see THAT! I STEPPED INTO THE PITCH!' There was general agreement from the watchers. After several unsuccessful attempts at hitting the pitched ball (Funny thing, you gotta look AT the ball...) he slammed one off the tee. Now the hard part: Having hit the ball, what do you do next? He stood, staring at the ball while behind him the parents all roared 'RUN RUN RUN!!!' The hysteria was palpable. He looked over his shoulder, smiled sweetly and went trotting off to take his base, never any hurry about him. Sigh.

That should've been my cue. He tried to tell me later, when I asked what was going on (He declared that he didn't want to play), saying 'I can't run.' Now here is where I failed Parenting 101. Instead of asking 'why', I said 'Of course you can. You are faster than lightening!' Near tears he repeated 'I CAN'T RUN!' I was distracted, trying to coach 11 4/5/6 year olds so I didn't pay attention...

When the game was over, we began loading gear into the car. On the final trip back to the field to collect the batting tee, I noticed that Xander wasn't with me. I turned to yell and saw him struggling along manfully, his pants down around his ankles. I went back, 'Xander, what happened?' He looked up, smiled his brown eyed smile and said gently 'I tried to tell you. I can't run. When I run, my pants fall down.' Ah ha.