For The Love Of A Soccer Ball

I remember when Zac was a very active and physically precocious 1 year old. He and I were browsing through the sporting goods section at a Wal-Mart one spring morning in Las Vegas. As natural as any boy, he was very taken with the variety of balls available. We talked about what sports were played with each different kind of ball, and Zac longingly touched each one. I think most mothers with 1 year olds would have left the store with one of the non-descript kickball-size rubber balls, but not us. We picked out a red and white soccer ball. Not a full size regulation scrimmage ball, but a small one that was just perfect for a budding soccer player. I didn’t realize until that day that soccer balls came in different sizes, which makes sense when one considers that children come in different sizes. Anyway, the clerk at checkout recognized the love of that soccer ball, and she returned it to its new owner as soon as she scanned it. Zac was quiet a picture as he quietly sat in his car seat holding that ball in his chubby baby hands all the way home. He proudly showed it to Daddy that night. The two took the ball with them on their evening excursion. I thought the ball was going to become the new crib companion at bedtime, but at last Zac was willing to part with it only to find it as soon as he awoke the next morning. Zac did become very good with the ball. He delighted in games of keep away with Mommy and Daddy. On the rare occasion when Daddy was out of town, I’d take Zac, his new baby brother, and the ball to the local baseball field where he’d run for hours chasing and kicking that ball with me. There is nothing like fresh air, exercise, and a boy with his favorite ball to raise one’s spirits.

This week we carried on the ball tradition with our second son. It seems Nathan has taken a liking to Zac’s old faithful red and white soccer ball. Zac isn’t ready to pass down his favorite ball to his brother, so, to minimize the strife, we made a sojourn to Wal-Mart in Sioux Falls. There in the surplus ball bin of the sporting goods section was a beautiful, small blue and white soccer ball. Nathan wrapped his arms around it, declared it as his, and only let go long enough for the clerk at check out to scan it and hand it right back to him. It seems like we have the soccer ball love affair repeating itself.