I’ve always thought it very important to allow my children to develop their own passions and interests and discover who they are. I have absolutely shared things I love with them and most definitely told them which teams they could and couldn’t root for (only slightly joking here, hehe), but have really tried to allow them to find out what their gifts are and what lights them up. I want them to not feel like they have to live up to some idealized version of what I want them to become, but rather that I love and support them and excited to discover who they are and who they will be along with them.
But, I’m not going to lie…it was super exciting for me when my son recently discovered a passion for baseball, something that I spent most of my childhood and adolescent years pursuing. I enjoyed some success in high school baseball and played 2 years in college. I really enjoyed it for the most part (until it really began to feel like a job and a chore in college) and was able to feel pretty confident and develop a lot of great life skills. I also got very into following professional and college baseball and my favorite teams. I will admit…I am a dedicated and long-suffering Seattle Mariners fan and a proud Oregon State University Baseball Fan.
So when my son started asking to play more and more in the backyard and began to really enjoy his Mario Baseball game for the Wii there was a part of me that was very proud and excited of the possibility of sharing this passion with my boy.
And so far…it has not disappointed…
He has had a blast and I have too. He’s got a lot of natural talent and the little bits of play and practice we have done previously have set him up to experience some early success in his first year of playing. I’ve tried to walk the fine balance of making sure he continues to just enjoy it and have fun, while giving some instruction and advice based on my learning and experience. He has been a sponge and has enjoyed picking my brain and learning the ins and outs of the game. Games are coming up this week and I can’t wait to see how he’ll do!
This is the joy of sharing our passions with our kids…
This is fatherhood…
This Is Fatherhood 