In one of my favorite movies, Steel Magnolias, M’Lynn is at her daughter’s funeral and says, “I just wanna hit something! I wanna hit it hard!” And is offered the cranky friend, Ouiser, to take the hit. None of my friends are cranky enough, so I settled for the batting cages.
The problem with that, though, is this is where my dad and I used to go.
Dad played softball from childhood and well into his adult life. Some of my favorite memories as a kid are playing on the bleachers after eating my McDonalds, listening to the “ting” of the bats. He wasn’t a pro, but from what I heard he was pretty decent. (I know he had a LOT of trophies that he got rid of when we moved).
I, on the other hand, am not very coordinated when it comes to anything with a ball. I was a gymnast, after all, and that took up all of my time. I’m alright, but not great. So when we would go to the batting cages, Dad would stand outside the fence and tell me what I was doing wrong: “loosen your grip,” “slide your hands down,” “scoot forward,” “get further away,” and “keep your eye on the ball.”
Many people have said (especially recently) that I’m a lot like my dad. And I am. But one of the ways (that I don’t think had sunk in until now) that I’m like him is that we both loved to teach. Dad enjoyed passing his baseball knowledge onto me (even though he didn’t pass his talent on). He enjoyed showing me how to take care of my truck, how to bait a hook, how to mow the grass...and he thoroughly enjoyed it. My mom is like that, too, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that I enjoy teaching others so much since both parents are always willing to help someone learn.
But tonight, this outing was difficult. I’d swing, miss, and look back at the fence as if I were expecting him to tell me what I was doing wrong. It would make me angry—I guess at myself for feeling the need to check if he were there, I knew he wasn’t. But then it made me angry that I didn’t know how to get better. I tried to remember everything he said, but it’s hard to coach yourself.
Moral of the story:
1. Hit something when you need to. (Preferably something inanimate and safe to hit).
2. Listen to your coaches—whoever they may be.
3. I’m not quitting school to become a pro softball player.
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