His hands are steady. His feet just far enough apart. Wrists firm and arms stiffened.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
He took his practice swings and I know for certain that this is what he was saying in his head. Reminding himself to swing gently, with the control of a pendulum. Because he is cerebral. Methodical. And, as his coach describes him, "analytical."
Tick tock. Tick tock.
In went the first ball. And then the second. He missed the third and then regrouped. Regrounded himself. Refocused.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
Calm eye. Feet in position. Back straight. Shoulders strong.
Tick tock. Tick tock.
In. In. In. Yes.
He looked up at me and smiled. And I smiled back because I was watching. I sure was. And so was his little brother with his own perforated grin and also holding up two thumbs high from across the room.
That warmed my heart. Because every day, I always say to them, "What do brothers do?" And in unison they say, "Stick together!" And sticking together means being for each other. Encouraging each other, supporting each other and just loving one another.
See, the little brother? He's just naturally athletic. He's a fast runner, a good catcher and is quick and agile. At most things, he's uber-competitive and is able to stick and move like he was born to do just that.
But the elder brother is less so. At least less natural at those games that require fast running and speedy hand-eye coordination. And all of it is fine. With us. With them.
Most importantly, with them.
It really is. Which makes me feel like I've done something right.
He may not run as fast. But this? This is Isaiah's thing. And watching him do this thing that celebrates his unique athleticism, his careful mind and builds his confidence at the same time is just. . . . cool.
But knowing my sons remember that no matter what, they're always on the same team? That's even cooler.
Yeah.
***
Happy Sunday.
I love that you are helping build the relationship between your boys.
ReplyDeleteAnd . . . he's also good at chess. And building things with legos. And creating stories for me to write. And welding a mean Wii stick! And so, so much more . . .
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this post because it reminds me of my daughter at his age and how different how different her strengths are from her sister's. My daughter is quite laid back, loves legos(still), chess, and was undecided for a long time between golf and tennis (she stuck with tennis). Her sister (my step daughter) who is also tall, was very competitive and more into basketball and track.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I predicted in another post that Isaiah would become an Engineer (it's the lego thing, LOL), which ironically is the career my daughter has chosen for college.
So while I enjoy posts about your children, I especially love the Isaiah stories because he's like my young lady in so many ways!
I'll say it again and again: You and Harry are doing such a great job with those boys. x0x0 N2
ReplyDeleteThat was such a sweet way of saying what you were saying. You know what I mean? Isn't it awesome to get to raise these little things and help shape them into good people?
ReplyDeleteI love this....it made me think of my Maya who ran and worked a little slower than her friends and well coordinated cousins. I know its because she was thoughtful and a thinker. She later earned medals in track and earned her first college hours at Harvard. Did I mention she's trying out for the Celtics dance team....lol. I spent a lot of time fretting about her needlessly. BTW..I'm in town on business and when I passed Grady I looked at in totally different way...not in my don't go to grady its horrible
ReplyDeletekind of way. I looked at it thinking of its history ,the students, the elders, eyedrows and about you Dr Miss Tuskegee braiding hair.Honestly, I didn't think sexy so much. Oh! This came to mind too.....I want you to ask your girls at the hair salon what they thought of Lil Kim's new Connie Chung look...random
O'Kee
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We all have different talents :) That, as you well know, is the beauty of this life.
ReplyDeleteMaria, fellow Meharrian