Karen Allen from the Sandlot

Tonight I was out walking Stan, and Aidan came with us on his bike. Because he's on a bike and I'm walking, he's usually quite a ways in front of us but he'll stop every now and again to let us catch up. As we were heading down the street, there was a group of 8-10 year old boys across the street playing football. I know at least two of them and when I finally caught up to Aidan I said, "Did you want to go play with Max and Will?'

Aidan sort of looked down and said, "No, I'm okay." Being the super astute mom that I am, I asked him if he felt uncomfortable playing football with the boys. Aidan responded, "They are just really into sports. And I don't really get along with kids that are really, really into sports." 

In that moment it hit me. I am Karen Allen from the Sandlot. You know the Sandlot, right? One of the cinematic classics of the 90's. It's your typical coming-of-age movie where the main character, Smalls, is a kid that doesn't know how to play baseball in a small town where that's what kids do. He meets the kids in the Sandlot, gets taken under the wing of Benny the Jet Rodriguez, learns how to play baseball and, in the process, gains confidence and makes the greatest friends of his life. It sounds trite but it is actually an awesome movie. 

The Great Hambino

Well tonight, as Aidan was staring at his shoes and taking the long way home to not pass the football game again, it hit me that I felt just like Karen Allen's character, Small's mom, in the Sandlot. 

There is nothing we want more than our kids to be happy, and a lot of times happiness = fitting in with other kids your age. Now Aidan has plenty of friends but I do worry that someday he will be teased for not being tough enough or for his lack of athletic prowess. 

Luckily, the world has changed a lot since the bygone era of jocks and cheerleaders being on top socially. Even when I was in high school that was a dated stereotype. Nowadays it seems like there are a lot of ways to be cool, and it's easy to picture Aidan flourishing in band, theater, or academics. I can even picture Aidan thriving at solo sports like skiing or rock climbing. And yet, it's also easy to picture Aidan thrown up against a locker for running like a girl. The things that keep us up at night.

Aidan playing baseball

Me, encouraging him to play sports like the other boys. 

Let's just hope there's a Benny the Jet Rodriguez on our street who is willing to take Aidan under his wing. Maybe Aidan can tutor him in return.