Letter to My Children



Dear Kids,

Your old man isn’t a very emotional guy. Other than Hall of Fame speeches, Barry White songs, and the scene where Gus dies in “Lonesome Dove”, nothing much gets to me. In fact, the older I get the more I realize that emotions usually get in the way of making sound decisions in life.

But I have to admit, this past Saturday tugged at the ol’ heart strings a little bit. Seeing all three of you playing sports made your mother and I so proud. Girls, we are used to seeing your brother play, but we are so happy that you two decided to play this year, too.

You see, the thing about sports is that they are such a great metaphore for life- you get out whatever you put in. Hard work and brains will usually pay off, and laziness and ignorance hardly ever will.

I want to say a little something to all three of you, but I don’t want to use your names. Right now it’s cool for you to read your name in the paper, but I have a feeling that when you are teenagers you won’t be so happy about it.

To my oldest daughter- You were the one that I pushed the hardest to play, and the one that I worried most about. I want you to pay attention and realize how much fun you are having, and how good it feels to compete at something. You are doing so well for it to only be your first year of playing. Keep working hard, listen to your coaches, and above all else, stay positive.

Oh and by the way, try to pay more attention to what is happening on the field. I promise you, you aren’t missing anything out here in the stands. And if you do, your mom will fill you in on all the gossip after the game.

To my youngest daughter- I knew sports would be right up your alley. You have the heart, aggressiveness, and mindset to be good at anything you do. You aren’t scared to step up to the plate and swing away, and I want you to live your whole life that way.

Right now you are swinging at pitches that are over your head, or on the ground, or even behind you. That’s okay. We can always teach you to scale back and be more selective. Just stay aggressive.

And that brings me to my son. You have always been a good kid. You are always so laid back, and never get in much trouble. But that might actually work against you in sports. You have to remember not to be so timid when you play.

Yes, you’re going to strike out every now and then. The best hitters in baseball only get on base three out of ten times. You might even hit into a double play once in a while. We can live with that, though. The most important thing is that if you do strike out, you strike out swinging.

We’ve worked hard on your swing, and it’s a good one. In fact, you work on it every night. Learn to trust it, and trust yourself. Swing the bat, son. In baseball, in life, in whatever you do- swing the bat.

I’m proud of you kids.

Love,

Dad

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