????

Well, I'm not real sure what we've gotten ourselves into, but I think we're about to get ourselves out of it.

Tonight was Elijah's first t-ball practice. This was something we were looking forward to and excited about, but during practice and the few hours following, our opinions changed. After putting the kids to bed, I came to Gavin and told him that I couldn't shake the feeling that I had made a mistake signing Elijah up for t-ball, and Gavin told me that he too was having issues with the whole idea. So, after discussing it tonight, I will be calling the city rec department to see about a refund. And just to clarify before explaining it further, there was no "incident" that occurred, and Elijah had a great time.

So, here's the deal. I would say three things really struck me tonight as I watched my son participate in his first organized sports team.

1. My son, who just turned 3 a couple of weeks ago and still hasn't figured out potty-training, is being "coached" on how to be a good baseball player - I mean really, he's still in diapers! It seems absured to be trying to figure out baseball fundamentals.
2. There were three kids having tantrums because they were already worn out and confused beyond belief 30 minutes into it and they didn't want to play anymore. But of course, they were not given any relief, only made to pointlessly push through their exhaustion. Again, seriously, we're talking about three year olds.
3. I didn't start playing basketball until I was ten years old, and I didn't even start learning actual fundamentals until eleven or twelve years old. But I still had plenty of time to develop those skills as much as I wanted to and have many enjoyable years of playing and learning.

I was just so struck tonight at the rush to competitiveness and skill (I was shocked to listen to a grandfather be so hard on his grandson and then apologize to the coach that this little boy didn't do as well as he should have - so very sad). There is no doubt that Elijah loves any and all sports, and he has a natural ability with most of it. I think he'll be playing some type of sport for most of his life - but is it really necessary to get him on that strict, competitive road now? Again - he's THREE! He is perfectly happy playing his own brand of baseball of having Gavin pitch to him, knocking the ball across the yard, running his bases and then tackling his dad. Instead of having a "coach" perfect his grip, trying to learn how to hit off of a t-ball stand (because he's used to being pitched to - isn't this a step backwards?), and then having ten grown men yelling at him in order to "guide" him around the bases. And then they don't even keep score! Talk about confusing!

So, the current consensus in our family - organized sports when Elijah decides for himself that he wants to and is ready to participate, not when his parent's (mom) decide for him that it would be fun and good for him. It's just another example of making him grow up too fast. I know that he has so many years in front of him to be involved in the craziness of team sports, and I don't want to someday look back on these few years of freedom, creativity, and imagination with regret that I didn't allow him to keep it and live through it with as much individuality as possible.