WHY BASEBALL DRIVES HIM

There's a lot of things that go through the mind of an 8 year old. For my kid, it's mostly baseball, and being a baseball fan and Yankee fanatic, I couldn't be happier. Baseball drives him. It doesn't matter what kind of homework he has, or what class he hates or appointment he gets dragged to, baseball sticks with him all the time... his happy place, if you will.

Which brings me to yesterday. My son made his first communion this past Sunday. He's been going through the entire process, learning about the sacrament of communion, while, at the same time, going to school and playing baseball on 2 teams, every other day. It's busy and it's tiring and he complains about all of it, except for baseball of course. When he's done with all those activities, he's usually in the yard, throwing, catching and hitting, either with a friend or by himself.

He loves baseball, Hence, a whispered conversation I overheard in church yesterday at his first communion ceremony. This actually happened. It's between my wife and kid:

My 8 year old: Is this almost over?
My wife: They will bring up the bread and wine, it will become body and blood and then you make your communion.
My 8 year old: What's communion?

I'm not kidding. Again, we've been through this, we've gone to church, he's learned about communion. We've explained the process, but at the end of the day, when asked what he wanted to do for his first communion party, this young man who's in love with the game of baseball said: "I want to have a catch."

When life is simple, things are so much clearer, aren't they? Yes, my son is very smart, he's active and he is very aware of his surroundings, but he's passionate about just one of all those things...it's baseball. I find it fascinating because he's taught me something. When I'm stressed out, have to pay the bills, or have an appointment or meeting, or life's alittle too hectic at that moment, I stop. If I can, I make time for a catch, or I think about being a kid on the baseball field, or, I think about throwing the ball with my old man or better yet, being in a little league game. It lightens the load in my mind a bit. It takes me to a happy place, at least for that moment.

My son's no dummy, he's a genius. He's got it figured out at 8 while I'm just learning it. You can have all these things in your life, but remember to never forget the fun stuff and never forget your passion, because the passion keeps you driven. And if you think that's bunk, or if you just don't believe me, you should ask my son. He already knows he will play first base for the New York Yankees... after he makes his first communion, of course.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.