Fatherhood

We took Patrick to his cousin's volleyball game the other night. What a terror that could have been ... What fun we had! We got there and Patrick got fixated on the net bag of volleyballs that the girls were using ... he simply sat back and watched as they added and removed balls. Then, he sat on my lap as the girls practiced serving over the net ... all patience. Once the balls were back in the net, he did pick up the bag and attempt to carry it off the court ... I was impressed that he managed to get it off the ground; it was bigger than he is. As the game got going, he again sat patiently in my lap and watched the game; clapping at all the appropriate times. When his cousin got up to serve, he was wildly cheering and calling her name ... could you ask for anything more of an eighteen month old son! I couldn't believe how much fun he had and how well he behaved ... what a cool night!

One of the cool parts of being a father is when Mama and her son are having one of those incredible moments. I get to watch them ... seeing the look of pure joy in each of their faces. Last night, it was music ... of all things, from a soccer ball. It was one of those children's toys that sings various songs when it bounces. Patrick would whack the ball, smile from ear to ear, then start rocking from side to side with the music. I have watched him rock and dance to music before and this was the most animated (full body ... legs and arms going everywhere). This would have been really cool, but what made it truly exciting was that he was sitting in his mother's lap and she was rocking with him ... with the same look on her face. Oh, the advantages of being a father!

Patrick, like all little kids loves to play with balls. I remember the first few times with rolled a ball back and forth. His aim was interesting and took several of us to keep up with him. The same process occurred as he learned to throw the ball ... although, we added in throws that went behind him which were not as frequent when he rolled the ball. He loves to have the big rubber balls bounced off his head and chest. The laughter is almost magical. Last night, he found one of Jen's workout balls that weights about 5 pounds. Watching the look of anguish as he lifted it the first time was hilarious. He did manage to throw it about a foot and loved every second of it. Later in the evening, he brought the ball to me and "threw it" into my lap ... again, one of the "pains" that I am learning to deal with as a father.