Shake it off, Shakey!

My Dad didn't have any boys. My Dad is a competitive spirit, he's Midwest, old school, a little misunderstood at times (as we all are), and a good man. My Dad was a Little League Dad. He used to hit ground balls at us over and over again, till we weren't scared, and getting the glove down was a reflex. He'd nail a line drive at us, just to keep us on our toes, and like all Little League Dads, when we were bruised, beaten,benched, or dirty from falling down or getting knocked down ... again, he would say, "Shake it off!"

And we did.

We found our spine, our focus and not only did it, we wanted to do it, and do it well. He said, "The philosophies of baseball can be applied to many aspects of life." I truly believe this. Unlike a lot of my friends, I'm not necessarily thinking of the rules of the game, or the stats and averages, but the work and practice to get to the game.

So when I find myself feeling a little drawn to the darkside, either of my knitting or own human nature or just wearing the unjustified grumpy pants of life, I must say to myself, "Shake it off!"

It doesn't mean what I feel isn't valid, it just really isn't a feeling I should be defining my game by.

Thanks Dad.

*Sorry I didn't make The Kid play baseball. I blame bad parenting and his franco-american side. Soccer is the global sport ;)