Baseball Dreams
The imagination of a little kid is limitless, it is amazing
and inspiring. As we get older I think
that our imagination fades as we focus more on everyday life and our reality
then the “what could be.” Now I know every
adult has ‘imagined’ winning the lottery, and everything that could be done
with that money. Yes, that is
imagination, I guess, but not the childlike imagination. In a child’s imagination ANYTHING is
possible, I love this! How are they supposed to “dream big” if they cannot
imagine the impossible?
This is all coming to me as I took the boys on a shopping
trip last night, I was trying to find a dress as quickly as possible to get
back home and get dinner going as it was already getting late. There was
another little boy there with his mom and he and Jake were both going between
the clothes racks and “hiding from the bad guys”. They were staying close to us and I saw no
harm in it. The other little boy’s mommy was ready to leave and she called for
him to come. She asked him once and he
replied with “come find me mommy!” she shouted back with a quick, “Get out of
there Aiden, and stop acting stupid! Let’s go!”
Now I know that every mom has their breaking point. I know
parenting is frustrating. But if it has already been a long day, then why would
you bring your son shopping with you?
When I am going into a store with my boys, I am very aware that I have
to have a list, and I have to get in and out as quickly as possible. If it has already been a long day, the store
can wait, because yes…. Little kids can be trying on the patience.
Back to this little boy Aiden, he came out of that clothes
rack fast and looked at Jake with an embarrassed and sad look on his face. I
felt bad for him, and bad for his mom that she was having too difficult of a
day to relish in his childlike fun. That was until, Jake came out of his
clothing rack and said “am I being stupid too mommy?” My feelings changed, I
was instantly fuming that her derogatory cut-down of her son’s fun imagination was
now harming my Jake’s perspective. “You
are not being stupid, and that is a bad word, I don’t want you to use that. You
are being a “good guy” and I need you to stay close to mommy so you can make
sure no “bad guys get me”, okay?” He smiled and hid back into the clothes rack
I was looking at.
I have talked about the power of a parents words, you are
their God, their hero and their confidence in themselves rises and falls with
the words you say to them. There is a
difference in disciplining a child for wrong behavior and destroying the innocents
of a child because of senseless remarks, when they are just ‘being a kid.’
Last night as I was lying with Jake in bed he asked for a
story. Daddy usually tells Jakers his
bedtime stories, but daddy told him one then I was supposed to. I asked what kind of story he would like and
he told me “tell me a baseball one!” (Surprise)
For all that don’t know my Jake, baseball is EVERYTHING! So I started
with the story:
Once upon a time there was a…..(interrupted)
Jake: Mommy it doesn’t start like that! Just start
it by announcing me and telling me I am the best.
Jake Koester is the best player
in the world and…. (interrupted)
Jake: ugh! Can you just start it like this: It was the biggest game in the world, it is
called the World Series, Jake-Jake is pitching, Okay? Start it like that.
It was the biggest game in the world, it is
called the World Series, Jake-Jake is pitching and the team is up by one run, the
bases are loaded…
Jake: Tell me what inning
It is the bottom of the 9th
Jake: no it is the bottom of the 15th
Okay, it is the bottom of the 15th,
bases loaded and a big hitter from the Cubs walks up to the plate, Jake has to
strike him out to win the World Series…
Jake: Tell me how big and ugly and mean he is
This guy is very big and ugly and he is a
mean guy and gets lots of homeruns. There was a full count, 2-3 and Jake went
to throw the last pitch…
Jake: tell me what kind of ball I threw
Jake was ready for the wind up to throw the baseball…
Jake: NO
MOMMY! I was winding up to throw my fastball!
Jake looked at the mean ugly batter and
threw the best Fastball he has ever thrown and the batter stuck out!...
Jake: Mommy! He got caught looking…that’s how
daddy says it!
Okay, you stuck him out looking and you won the game….World Series
Champion! Yay!
Jake: That
was a good story; I can’t wait to win the World Series one day!
Well, other than the fact that I was outright exhausted
after this story that “I” was telling I loved that he whole heartedly believes
in this. And maybe one day he will with
a World Series. We have no MLB stars in the family but I will never doubt his
dreams, I will never diminish his imagination and I will continue to build his
confidence……. However I will leave the sports story telling to Daddy who
obviously is much better at it them me.
I hope to help them think beyond ordinary and imagine the extraordinary.
Inconceivable feats are reached only by
the people who have the imagination to think big. I hope to foster an
environment where my boys believe that nothing is to “stupid” to dream.
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| Jake's Own field for his birthday in our yard |
I believe in them more then they will ever know. And I am sure my dreams for them for the
future will be inferior to the reality of the men that they will become. My
boys, I love you more than even YOU can imagine!
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