Heroic Grandparents

Not many grandparents would fly 12 hours to see their grandkids. Well ours did. They flew from Hawaii all night and came for a fun visit to be with us and spend time with the kids. Our kids were (still are) thrilled! They shared stories, played games, learned to play the Ukulele, learned to sing Hawaiian songs,  played and made some fun memories getting to know their grandparents better. It was hot and humid, really uncomfortable weather, but we got some baseball, some slip-in-slide, some grilling and relaxing summertime fun. Daddy was home and that was just so good too, to all be together with no defined schedule. We only could have wanted for more time, a sign of a good vacation. We are grateful for such a nice visit.

Bill was eager and happy to share with his Dad the baseball games and how Joseph is learning the fun (and virtues) that come from participating in a team sport. He is so grateful for the time and skills his father gave him as a boy. I could tell he wanted to show his Dad that he was sharing this also with his son. I remember distinctly this year, when Bill was chronically sick, and just going to work each day was really hard. One day he said, "The reason I can push myself to work when I feel this lousy, is because of sports. I learned to push, to drive yourself when you have nothing left, to reach in and find more. I want to give that to my son too. It's an important skill to have in life. " Not having played sports much, and not always understanding my dear husband, and his paternal instincts, I marveled at the good that can come from learning a team skill. (I had to remind myself it is not simply a time and money drain, a life diversion, or an ego filler. We of course know the pitfalls of sports only too well, and thankfully have a very positive little team and positive parents who primarily want the kids to have fun and learn the game. No arguing going on here, even when calls are unfair or other coaches "steal the game". It's about more than all that with these great Dads. We even have a special needs child on our team, who is adorable.) So Bill was quite pleased that Joseph had his best game of the season when Grandpa came to town. Good thing his shirt had no buttons, they would have flown off. Joseph had some fun, but his Dad was more than pleased for him to play well. Seeing your son perform the way you know he is capable of makes Papa proud. He is definitely a coach at heart.