Category Archives: grand parents

by

Baseball has been very, very good to me…


IMAG0109

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. – Terrance Mann, Field of Dreams

I don’t know if it’s the game of baseball I love, or the stories behind baseball that are more intriguing to me.  In the first week of the 2013 MLB season we were captured by an almost perfect game from Yu Darvish and witnesses to a 20-year-old phenom, Bryce Harper, have a multi-homerun game.  Stories like these are what get my baseball “blood” flowing.

As much as I love the stories, I love the memories I had growing up playing catch with my Dad and brothers.  Long toss in the yard, monkey in the middle, and the game of 500 were played on most summer evenings. Driving to games in a caravan of cars to arrive and leave as a team, the bonds that were shared amongst boys in a man’s game, the incredible catches, stolen bases, and a bases clearing double are what I remember and love of playing baseball.  They are fond memories; they are memories that will be embedded into my brain as much as the 2003 Chicago Cubs run at the World Series will.

As I embark on the “Baseball Dad” journey with my son a part of me wants to go back in time to relive the moments I had with my Dad while he showed me how to throw and catch a ball.  I never knew how difficult it would be to teach my 5-year-old son how to perform the basic fundamentals of the game.  We tend to pick up the ball off the ground more, than taking it out of the glove.  I have a vivid memory of playing catch with my dad for the first time and throwing the ball into the ground.  I can still hear my dad’s voice giving me pointers and tips on where to release the ball as my arm is coming forward.  The patience he displayed during the first few days of my training should be inducted into the, Dad Hall of Fame.  I wasn’t the best student; he was a great teacher who made me a better player.

As I play catch with my son, I try to remember the pointers and tips that were presented to me by my father.  We might pick up the ball off the grass more often than not, but it is the time spent with my son that is the most important part of the game.  How my son embraces the stories, the smells, and the love of the game will “mark the time” of our baseball journey.

LET’S GET SOME RUNS!!!

by

To Whom It May Concern: Volume VI

Image

To whom it may concern,


Thank you for giving me a daughter who throws her toys when the Elmo segment of Sesame Street is over. Thank you for giving me a daughter who finds it humorous to feed the dog her Cheerios then throws a fit when all the food she fed the dog is gone. Thanks for giving me a daughter who considers the toilet her personal playground. For giving me a daughter who when I turn my back for 2 seconds finds a way to climb on the dining room table and does the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse dance. Also, thanks for giving me daughter who when I ask, “where is your nose”, she pokes me in the eye…then laughs. Thanks for giving me the greatest daughter a father could ask for.

 Respectfully,

 B.

P.S. – I wonder if Elmo would be a good drinking buddy?

I can’t seem to get out this funk?  As I have written in previous posts, LIFE happened and has taken a real toll on me and I can’t seem to get out the rut.  I have leaned on many things the past few weeks but they keep turning into questions, rather than lights at the end of the tunnel.  I was blessed to have a person in my life that I could draw inspiration from and they are now gone.  I’m not feeling sorry for myself, or in a depressed state – I just can’t get everything out of my head.

I learned so many life lessons not only about myself, but also about the world from this person.  He touched my life in so many ways; words can’t describe the effect he had on me.  Deep down I know he knows how much he helped me throughout my life.  My only wish is he continues to guide me through the rest of my life.  More importantly, I hope the lessons I learned from this great man will have an impact on how I raise my children.  My children deserve the knowledge, love, inspiration, and the same impact I had.  I know they will because that was the last Life Lesson that he bestowed upon me.  No matter if I see the lights at the end of the tunnel, I will continue to carry the torch to find the way…

by

Fishing with the Kings

Image

Funny Conversation…



Cameron – Daddy, I’m the fisher king!

Me – What makes you the fisher king?

Cameron – I caught 12 fish and a foot long fish!

Me – That makes you an ichthyologist (look it up)


Cameron – Yeah, I’m that and a fisher king!

Let the good time roll… 

How many years does it take for something to become a “rite of passage”?  When does something that has little meaning at the time, have such a huge impact later in life?  For the past few days these are the questions that I have been asking myself.  Am I teaching my children the things that my father taught me, and the things his father taught him?  Do I accurately and correctly re-tell a story that was told to me by my grandfathers?  Am I teaching them the proper way, the way I was taught to tie a hook to a fishing line?  What was the secret I was taught on how to properly put a worm on a hook?  Do I tell my children talking doesn’t scare fish away?  Or, do I tell them talking does scare fish away?  Will they be able to digest the sights and sounds of their surroundings?  Will they breath in the fresh air and value how their time is being spent?  Will they place their hand in the cool water and bask in the day’s sunlight?  Will they listen to the sloshing of water under the metal boat and stare in the sky and wonder where the birds are headed?  I know only time will tell, but I have a feeling all will be perfect in the end.  My children are blessed by two guiding lights, which will be there for them when the path gets dim, and the light of day dissipates into night.

I can remember fishing in the ponds of Oklahoma with my Grandpa and Great-Grandpa.  I can remember fishing in the ponds of Missouri with my Dad and Grandpa.  I can remember fishing in the lakes of Wisconsin with my Brothers.  Fishing brings us together and will be a part of our family for generations to come.  Recently, my Dad took Cameron to Missouri to go fishing with my Grandpa (Cameron’s Great-Grandpa).  There is no better time to spend fishing, than fishing with Grandpa’s.  Every night we would get an excited phone call from Cameron telling us about his afternoon of catching fish.  During one conversation Cameron blurted out, “Daddy, I’m the Fisher King!”  I can only imagine which grandpa fed him that line?  I was happy he thought he was the Fisher King, but jealous at the same time and asked, ”What makes you the Fisher King?”  I was picturing him struggling to reel in a small perch and be so excited that he caught one fish.  I wasn’t prepared for the response of, “Because, I caught 12 fish and a foot long fish”.   One thing you have to understand about my family, we are HIGHLY competitive.  I don’t care if you’re 4 years or 99 years old, if you tell me you caught 12 fish and have evidence of your catch; I’m going to be pissed!  I was proud of my son, but felt it necessary to bring him back down from cloud 9 and told him, “That makes you an ichthyologist.”  For a few seconds there was silence and thought I was getting the last laugh on my 4-year old son when he replied, “Yeah, that and a FISHER KING!”  To do this day, I have never caught 12 fish in one day, and as usual, Cameron gets the last laugh.

This post is dedicated to both of my Grandfathers, two men I have always looked up to and admire.

by

To Whom It May Concern: Volume III

Image

To Whom It May Concern,

Thank you for giving me a daughter, who feels that it is necessary to throw her plate of food on the ground, throw the food that is left over from the plate that was thrown on the floor to the dog.  Thank you for giving me a daughter who refuses to properly drink out of a Sippy cup and who finds it entertaining to allow water/milk to seep out of the cup and “paint” a picture on the table or carpet.  Also, thank you for giving me a daughter who loves getting into things that I never knew or forgot that we had and for destroying the things that I never knew or forgot that we had.  Thank you for giving me a daughter who throws her entire body backward in attempt to have a temper tantrum but instead allowing her to hurt her head in the process.  Thank you for giving me the greatest daughter a father could ask for…

Respectfully,

B.

P.S. – Instead of a drink, I’m going to gorge myself with food.

I am blessed to have two wonderful children that have learned to love and entertain each other.  This past week my Dad (Grandpa) took Cameron to visit his Great-Grandparents in Missouri.  It was nice for Janel and I to share alone time with Parker and give her a little more one on one time.  I took Parker to the Field Museum, she helped me with homework, we watched the entire Star Wars Saga, and we ate out of the cereal box every morning.  It was fun to watch her as she entertained herself with her dolls and how she commanded the dog to get off the couch when she wanted to get up and snuggle with Daddy.  When Cameron and my Dad returned, Cameron didn’t jump into my arms, he headed straight towards Parker and told her how much he missed her and proceeded to tell her about the fun adventures that he had with grandpa.  Which included all the milk gravy that he ate, the fish he caught, and the tractor that he drove.  Even though Parker didn’t understand half what Cameron said, she held him tight and said she loved him.  It’s these types of moments as parents that I cherish and makes me realize that I may actually be doing a good job.  As a wise man once told me, “we are nothing without family. – D.Y.O”