Thought 05FEB2010

THE HOME RUN
On June 18th, I went to my little brother's baseball game as I always did. Cory was 12 years old at the time and had been playing baseball for a couple of years. When I saw that he was warming up to be next at bat, I decided to head over to the dugout to give him a few pointers. But when I got there, I simply said, "I love you." In return he asked, "Does this mean you want me to hit a home run?" I smiled and said, "Do your best."

As he walked up to the plate, there was a certain aura about him. He looked so confident and so sure about what he was going to do. One swing was all he took and, wouldn't you know, he hit his first home run! He ran around those bases with such pride - his eyes sparkled and his face was lit up. But what touched my heart the most was when he walked back over to the dugout. He looked over at me with the biggest smile I've ever seen and said, "I love you too, Ter." I don't remember if his team won or lost that game. On that special summer day in June, it simply didn't matter.
Terri Vandermark - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997
Los mirones son de piedra / If you want to watch, you'd better keep quiet - Spanish Proverb