Life Lessons from an 8-Year-Old

By Amber Swinehamer 

I’ve been a baseball mom for the past four years. My son loves the game, and I love watching him grow year after year with his skills and knowledge. I marveled at his improvement this past year from one season to the next and was excited when we were informed he made the all-star team for his league. That excitement turned into anxiety quickly for me.

Obviously, an all-star team is comprised of the best of the best; and for a kid that’s not used to riding the bench, the change is hard to adjust to. Once games began, and my son sat for six of nine innings in a scrimmage, I watched his face turn from delight in playing in between regular seasons to questioning his skills and abilities. As a mom, I wanted to step in so badly. Granted, there wasn’t much I could do. I’m not the coach. My heart hurt watching him sit there. But then, something happened.

I heard him speak to the other teammates as they came in the dugout: “Good job out there!” And at batting practice: “Man, you destroyed that ball!” He told me, “I’m happy to be playing baseball and glad I don’t have to wait until fall to play again.”

That’s when I realized there was a lesson in this situation. But the lesson was not for my son; it was for me. So often, we think we know how our kids are going to respond to a situation. So often, we want to jump in and save the day because we want to protect them. What I learned is that kids can surprise us and are often more mature than we think and even more mature than we can sometimes be in certain situations. We want to protect them, but sometimes we need to let them feel what they are going to feel in a situation and have them adapt accordingly. My son is only 8 years old, but he’s teaching me just as much as I’m teaching him as he grows up, and I’m excited (and a little anxious) to see what the next lesson will be.

Amber Swinehamer is a stay-at-home mom and resides in Bluffton, South Carolina, with her husband David and two sons. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, live music, Atlanta Braves baseball, and all things Washington, D.C.