Playing Catch With My Dad
Playing Catch With My Dad One of the fondest memories I have with my dad was playing catch. I was eight years old when he signed me up for Pee Wee baseball. I had never thrown a baseball before this time. I remember him buying a glove for me and breaking it in with oil and a ball inside it. The day came when I got to officially use it. He said, let’s play catch. We tossed it back and forth and he was very patient as I threw it over his head. Each time we’d play catch he’d stand back farther and throw harder. He would throw grounders to teach me to field the ball. He would throw high flies that I’d have to run down to catch. I remember every now and then I would throw a wild ball back and it would sail over his head. He would look at me as if to say, that’s it I’m done, but he would go get it and say one more. Meaning one more over the head and we are done for the day. This always made me work on accuracy!Eventually I got to the point I could catch about anything he threw at me. I could also throw it back accurately and hard. We would tease if one of us flinched. As I got older, every now and then dad would say, Merv, you want to play catch? I always said yes. There was something about throwing the ball back and forth that united us. We didn’t talk a lot, but it helped create conversation. I felt a bond between us that stuck with me. Dad didn’t just help prepare me for Pee Wee baseball he helped me prepare for life. I believe God used this simple act of playing catch to help build my self-confidence which every kid needs. Much of the appreciation and affection I have for my dad was developed by playing catch with him. I love him and miss him but I know he is in heaven. He put his faith in Christ a few years before he died.
