Homeruns

My 5-year-old LOVES baseball (particularly St. Louis Cardinals baseball). He is so devoted that we DVR all Cardinals’ games so he can see each and every play. (Heaven help us if weather intefers with satellite reception.)

For the longest time whenever any runs scored, my son thought it was a homerun. He would hoop and holler and say, “Go crazy, folks, go crazy!” At first we didn’t have the heart to tell him not all runs are out-of-the park, rip-the-cover-off, grand slams, but after so many hysterical victory dances a parent gets worn down. Eventually we got it through to him that you can score on an RBI, a sacrifice fly or bunt, a base hit blooper, or even by stealing home. Life (outside of baseball) can be the same.

Not every victory is measured by the shreds remaining of a task you rocketed out of the park. Sometimes your successes come from bloopers and strike outs. Other points are earned from ground outs that bring a teammate home. Don’t let your focus on homeruns steal the joy from all other ways you can succeed. Put your energy into scoring as a team or learning how to fix those strike outs and you will find yourself in a winning position every time.

By: Melanie A. Peters