Revel in the moments of glory
The Boy threw the football at me as hard as he could. I understood why. He was 10, and 10-year-old boys have a hard time not showing how big they think they are.
"Nice one," I said across the lawn, firing the ball back even harder. He caught it anyway ... darn it. "But how far can you throw it?"
The Boy grinned.
"I can throw it over the house," he said. "Wanna see?"
I knew he could probably throw the ball over the house. I also knew there was a chance he'd break a window, toss the ball into the street in front of a cop, or, worse yet - it was a busy neighborhood full of people in lawn chairs - I'd hate for him to knock over somebody's drink.
But I had to say yes. This was a pivotal moment for the Boy. In every stage of a guy's life they have their idea of what it means to be a man, and he wanted to prove his 10-year-old studliness.
"Sure," I said, smiling at him. "But yell before you throw it. I don't want you to hurt me."
He nodded at me stone faced like I'd just called a play in the huddle during the Super Bowl and ran behind the house to show me the zenith of his manliness. Some kids show this by conquering a video game, some by earning merit badges, and some by belching the ABCs - I know I did - but the Boy was going to show his by throwing a football over the house.
There are various times in our lives when we don't think we can get any cooler. For 16-year-olds it's driving, for college students it's waking up without a hangover, for my toddler it was the first time he used the potty.
It's only when we become adults that we forget to be proud of ourselves or when we do something great. Maybe that's why we're all so grumpy.
"Here it comes," the Boy screamed and launched the football. It popped over the crest of the roof and fell toward me, away from windows, cops and anyone's drink. A few seconds later, the Boy came running around the corner of the house, his face beaming like he'd just found the toy in a box of Trix. "See, told you."
Yep, the Boy got the ball over the house and I actually caught it, although he didn't believe me. I tossed the ball to him and told him I had to see if he could do it twice. Heck, I just wanted to let him bask in his aura of cool for a while. He'll find out later that being cool only keeps getting harder.
Sorry, there I am being grumpy again.
