Learning to fly...well, pitch

So I know I blog about DS a lot but being a stay-at-home mom of an only child, we send lots of quality time together. And as much as I endeavor to teach him all about the ways of the world, I often find he's the one doling out the valuable life lessons.

Last Saturday, DS was the starting pitcher for his machine pitch Little League team. At this level they do one inning of kid-pitch and the rest is played with a pitching machine. During practices, the coach asked for volunteers to try out the pitcher position. DS stuck his hand in the air, jumping up and down with glee. Turns out, he's pretty good at it.

The last practice before the big game, another mom turned to me and said, "He's so brave to be the first pitcher of the season. My son's too nervous to try." Brave? I thought. I hadn't considered it in that light, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right.

On the way to the game, I asked him why he volunteered and if he was excited. His simple reply: He thought it sounded like fun. No fear. No reservations. No self-doubt. Pitching sounded like fun. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I tried something new, much less tried something new without worrying about failure.

The big game came and went. Was he perfect at pitching? Clearly not, he's still a beginner, but he had fun, proving his hypothesis correct. So, filled with courage borrowed from my son, I signed up for that Zumba class I've been dying to try but thought I was too clumsy, too jiggly, too out-of-shape, too WHATEVER to try. Am I nervous. Yeah. Unfortunately a fear of failure comes with being an adult. But I think Zumba sounds like fun and that is all that matters.