Baseball season for my three boys is in full swing - no pun intended.
This year my middle mister is playing with the big guys. Gone are the no scoring games when you hope that your child knows which base to run to, and when weed picking in the out field is an actual position.
Gone are the coaches positioned at first base, home plate, and pitcher, eager to give direction to the batter and help the ball get the where it needs to be.
These days the ball comes fast and hard. The boys play all of the positions and umpires decided the fate of the game. Official scores are kept, and wearing an athletic cup is a must.
Unlike some boys who would fuss over the inconvenience and bulk of a plastic cup stuffed inside the handy pocket in the front section of their slider shorts, my boy feels like he has crossed over from boy to man-boy with the new athletic cup requirement. I have yet to tell him that he is still only seven years old, and still a very young boy.
The first night that the "cup" came home it was immediately deemed wearable, even though the next practice wasn't for two days. My son wore his slider shorts to bed along with his cup. The next day the slider shorts were worn to school, sans the cup. He couldn't wait until practice, when the coach would call out, "Who is wearing a cup?" and he would eagerly raise his hand high into the air, tapping the cup with the knuckles of his other hand to prove his honesty.
The cup comes off after practice and then becomes a toy. It has been disguised as a bird beak, a hat, and a vessel for holding drinks. "Look mom, I can use it for water." He informs me on our way home from baseball practice. Ewe.
And so, in this family, for now, the right of passage is the ability to place slider shorts underneath your baseball pants, and insert an athletic cup in the appropriate cup holding pocket. Who knew.
I assume the next thing he will want to do is wear deodorant and shave. However, we still have some time before those lovely chores are a necessity and not just for fun.
This year my middle mister is playing with the big guys. Gone are the no scoring games when you hope that your child knows which base to run to, and when weed picking in the out field is an actual position.
Gone are the coaches positioned at first base, home plate, and pitcher, eager to give direction to the batter and help the ball get the where it needs to be.
These days the ball comes fast and hard. The boys play all of the positions and umpires decided the fate of the game. Official scores are kept, and wearing an athletic cup is a must.
Unlike some boys who would fuss over the inconvenience and bulk of a plastic cup stuffed inside the handy pocket in the front section of their slider shorts, my boy feels like he has crossed over from boy to man-boy with the new athletic cup requirement. I have yet to tell him that he is still only seven years old, and still a very young boy.
The first night that the "cup" came home it was immediately deemed wearable, even though the next practice wasn't for two days. My son wore his slider shorts to bed along with his cup. The next day the slider shorts were worn to school, sans the cup. He couldn't wait until practice, when the coach would call out, "Who is wearing a cup?" and he would eagerly raise his hand high into the air, tapping the cup with the knuckles of his other hand to prove his honesty.
The cup comes off after practice and then becomes a toy. It has been disguised as a bird beak, a hat, and a vessel for holding drinks. "Look mom, I can use it for water." He informs me on our way home from baseball practice. Ewe.
And so, in this family, for now, the right of passage is the ability to place slider shorts underneath your baseball pants, and insert an athletic cup in the appropriate cup holding pocket. Who knew.
I assume the next thing he will want to do is wear deodorant and shave. However, we still have some time before those lovely chores are a necessity and not just for fun.
Comments
just wow.
i have girls. no thank you on the man-boy cup.
so glad he's having fun and drinking water out of things like that. ; )
Ah boys.....