Catching the ball

Wednesday evening. Daughter and mom got home after me. My wife is busy preparing dinner. I am trying to play catch with our daughter with a football. Instead of throwing the ball raising your hand, I am trying to teach her how to toss it, more like glide it.

But it’s not working. She’s scared of the ball and she’s sticking her palms out every time to prevent the ball. Naturally the ball hits her palm and just drops on the floor. Ughh, this is getting a little frustrating.

I can tell, I am starting to get upset. And just then, in a last effort I tried something different. Instead of standing three/four feet apart, I actually get really close to her, about half a feet.

Now I am throwing the ball up close and slow. It’s working. She’s getting the hang of catching the ball, instead of just sticking her palm out. Slowly over time, I distance myself. And she’s still with me. Awesome.

Next, I throw the ball with some variations to make sure she’s getting the hang of it. And she is. She’s catching it every time. I am amazed at myself of course for taking the time to invest rather than get mad. Next we play 50 catch, counting up to 50 catches. After that, I get my wife to join us on a three catch. So, we take turns throwing the ball to her, and she’s catching it every time.

And she’s super excited, confident and happy as well for being able to finally catch the ball.

LESSON: kids can teach you how to be patient or get bad real fast. How we choose to invest in the relationship is up to us, the adult.