parents in the bleachers

My common themes of discussion include language and communication, cinematography, and self development. As a new father, however, parenting is another topic that I'll occasionally write about in my efforts to gain more clarity and understanding on the subject.

Last weekend, I had my first experience as a spectator at one of my son's early athletic events — gymnastics class. He's almost two years old, and much of the session consisted of my son and the rest of the toddlers doing whatever they wanted. Nevertheless, it felt important for me to go, and I wanted to see him do everything that he could. My wife had already taken him to four or five classes before this one, and she said that, during the time I was there, our son ended up pulling off various tricks he had never performed before. I was proud, and the best part was seeing him laugh with excitement, look back at us, and smile.

It suddenly hit me that there isn't any difference between a moment like this and when parents see their children play sports at a high level. All stages are building blocks.

For the first time, I was one of the parents in the bleachers.

Despite it's unpopularity among my peers at the time of its release, one of my favorite sports movies is Friday Night Lights (2004, dir. Peter Berg). While at the gymnastics class, I recalled an interview I saw with Tim McGraw in which he said his character in the movie was easy to portray because he remembered what it was like playing sports with all of the parents watching.

Kids want to make their parents and the parents of their friends happy, and being on the other side for the first time as a parent unexpectedly made me feel a lot of emotions.

Above all, I want to be there and be the best influence I can.

Make a great week, everyone!

Until next Thursday.

-Thomas