My boys and I have a springtime ritual that we have followed for a number of years. At the beginning of March we start to prepare for the upcoming Little League season. They take hundreds of ground balls. They take batting practice. I take pain killers. How I love rituals.
This year is a bit different in that my oldest, Oliver, is stepping up to Senior League. Senior League is played on a big league diamond where its 60 feet 6 inches to home plate and its 90 feet from base to base. This is where boys really play baseball.
Last week, Oliver announced to me that he needed a new baseball bat. Ok...yes...I was not at all surprised that he needed a new bat...but when I casually asked if we were talking about something between $70.00 and $100.00 he told me that bats can go as high as $600.00 but that we should be able to find something in the $200.00 to $250.00 range.....
$200.00...to...$250.00...for...a...baseball...bat....
$200.00 to $250.00 for a baseball bat.
OK...that little revelation took a while to sink in...and I did a little research and as it turned out...I was not being played and that Oliver was actually trying to get me out of this for short money. So we went to a major sporting goods chain and looked at bats. We saw one that he liked but I told him that I needed to think about whether I was going to spend that kind of money on a baseball bat.
The next day his mom picked up the bat for him....the day after that I was presented with the bill.
Last night I was talking to another dad with whom I am acquainted while watching our sons play in a pre-season scrimmage. He told me that he paid $500.o0 for his son's bat. I looked at him....
Me: "You have got to be ****ing kidding me."
Him: "I know...but I love my son."
Me: "For $500.00 you could have bought a new son who would not make you buy overpriced sports equipment."
Him: "My son is the reason why I live and breathe...sometimes he is the reason why I get up in the morning."
Me: "My son is the reason why I sometimes go to bed early and pull the covers over my head...."
He laughed...I told Oliver this story...he laughed...
I love my son too...he is a good kid...even though he sometimes makes me want to go to bed early...
Baseball season starts tomorrow...and I can't wait to see Oliver, and Aidan, and Oliver's overpriced bat in action.
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Lets hope his new bat helps him hit home runs every time! I think my answers to the prissy dad would have been the same as yours. We all love our kids obviously but to use the depth of love to justify overprices purchases is ridiculous. I have to question who prissy dad is trying to impress.
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