Now here's the thing with the Jones family and sports: We don't do them*. We don't watch them. We don't listen to them. Odds are if you ask us if we watched "the game" you'll receive a vacant, ignorant stare in return.
In spite of this errant social behavior I still believe we live full, contented lives.
The other day, however, I had a horrible, sinking feeling. I suddenly realized that our non-sports lifestyle could possibly have led us to a grand oversight in the rearing of our children! What if one of them actually would like sports? What if one of them could be truly talented at any given sport but will never be given the chance? Parenting 101 dictates exposure to all types of activities in order to cultivate a child's natural abilities, right?
FAIL.
Solution: Start with the only sport I was ever any good at**. For $7.99 I picked up a teeny-tiny glove and ball and begged the little ones to gather around me as I taught them the basics of softball/baseball. What ensued was hilarity at it's finest.
Once we convinced Curtis to throw the ball with his free hand rather than using the glove to launch it, the ball ended up being tossed in my general direction more than it didn't. Awesome.
Catching it, however, was a bit of a problem. Certainly due to the fact that we've skipped the whole "catching a ball" part of parenting. Fail again.
I'm not even sure what he's trying to do here:
The boy quickly tired of it, but to my great delight (and profound surprise) Lindy ended up taking a real appreciation for this favorite American*** pastime. 
All in all I believe our first foray into the world of sports was a success. While we may need to visit other types of athletic adventures for Curtis (he appears to be only interested in full-contact, sword-wielding type activities) and possibly a different approach with Ellie (she was content to watch it all from the sidelines) we did enjoy a little sunshine, a lot of laughter, and a great bunch of family time.
Now THAT'S parenting!
* Ian would like me to clarify that mountain biking is a sport. So, for the record, by "sports" I am only referring to highly-publicized, career-making, rockstar-status, competitive sports including, but not limited to, football, baseball, basketball, and the like.
** I did possess a smidgen of natural talent for soccer as a child. But, as my childhood memories have long since been reduced to a hazy fog of un-recallable**** details I had to choose a sport from more recent years.
*** Canadians play the sport too, folks. Don't get all overly, patriotically, possessive on me. I'll have to pull out my Blue Jays World Series paraphernalia and get all up in your face.
**** Is "recallable" a word?
5 comments:
So what IS Canada's favorite passtime?
According to the internet (and possibly several million Canadian's) it's Hockey.
I have to disagree.
Maybe that's why I live here instead of up in the Great White North. Too cold.
The clarifications were the best. Love it. :)
My girls like to shoot arrows with the bows their father bought them for their birthdays. Does that count as a sport??
Okay. 1: Why didn't I see this post before now? (I'll answer this myself and say that it was probably because I was having a baby or something like that.) 2: I LOVE that you posted this at 1:47 AM! Go to sleep sometime! No wonder you like naps so much. And 3: Any mention of 'the game' around our family will most likely be met with blank stares as well. Glad we are on the same page. :D
Post a Comment