I was reminded the other day of an incredibly essential lesson that we dads sometimes take for granted; Just show up.
At my youngest son’s baseball practice, I was standing in the infield with the boys while another boy was up to bat. The batter hit a foul ball behind the first base dugout. I watched as one of the dads left the bleachers to get the ball. After he threw the ball back in to the pitcher, the boy next to me perked up suddenly. He spun around toward me and with a surprised but excited look on his face said, “That’s my dad! That was my dad!” The surprised face quickly transitioned to a full body posture of pride as he turned the other direction to his teammates and again yelled out, “Hey! That was my dad! My dad threw that ball in!” I smiled to myself and thought, “I have to remember this moment.”
Every boy yearns for his dad to be his hero. I believe that dads understand this, but we make much more out of it than is needed. Often, we are waiting for that epic moment when we can swoop in as the hero, but unfortunately those epic moments do not come around enough. This dad simply walked over to a foul ball, picked it up, and threw it back to the pitcher. I really don’t know much about this little boy’s relationship with his dad, but all it took that day was for his dad to be connected with his baseball team for a split second to remind him his dad was his hero.
Dads, stop waiting for the epic moments. Do the little things every day for your son. You have no idea how much it means to him to just be present in his life and with the things that matter to him. If you show up daily, when the epic moments do arise, you will already be present and ready to go.
Pick up the ball and throw it in.
