junior league

Ten days in Florida should give a family plenty of leisure time. A wise dad would be careful to make sure the opportunities are not wasted. Next year, when the family looks back on the trip, will they each remember it fondly? I hope so.

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One thing I would like to do down there, is play catch. In my family, that is more likely to be with a football than a baseball. We might even use a frisbee. I like baseballs and mitts, though. As youngsters, my brother and I played a lot of catch (baseball with mitts), and I loved it.

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Years ago, when I thought it was the right time, I began training my oldest son, so that I could pass on the tradition from his dad and uncle. He probably did not understand why I was so eager about this, and graciously tolerated a session that went on into the evening. Eventually, the streetlights had been turned on for our block. One pitch got lost in the glare, and wound up finding his face instead of the mitt. The season for playing catch was over. Maybe for good. He is nineteen now, and we never discovered what my brother and I shared as youths.

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While we're in Florida, I want to visit. I want to relax, go on leisure walks, take pretty pictures, do a little reading. I hope and expect to do these things, but it would be nice this time, if my hopes don't turn out to be a baseball in anybody's face.

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Hmmm... maybe I should buy them each a facemask.

passing the time away

There were no soccer games for our club on Saturday. Instead, this busy Labor Day weekend gave me several events I could talk about. I might blab on and on about each and every one, but instead I will choose a single episode and leave the rest of the stories in their potential state for now.

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(I know I have a lot of "visiting" to catch up on as well, so please bear with me as I try to catch up.)

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The very first thing I did when I got home on Friday was "make dinner." The joke is in how the men in my family traditionally make dinner. We get pizza.

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I took the older son with me, and we had some time to kill while waiting for the 'za. I took the soccer ball out of the car and we just passed the ball to each other for a while. I have bad knees, and he has never shown great interest in sports, but that was definitely one of my favorite moments in a weekend full of good things.

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When he was little, I tried to get him into playing catch. One ball hit him in the face, and we never got to play like I always hoped we would. Here, while waiting for dinner, I found that we were playing a form of catch.

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It was everything I had hoped for. Just a father and son passing the ball. Nothing major. Nobody else was involved. The activity wasn't forced; we were both bonding naturally.

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With all the tasty food and celebrations these last few days, I would still say that this was the single greatest thing that I was involved with on this long holiday weekend.

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Thank you Heavenly Father, for special, bonding moments like these with my biological son, whom I love. Please Sir, I want more of the same. I pray that I might also have more quality time with you as your adopted son, and that you would continually draw me closer, making me who you want me to be. Amen.