This past weekend, Kelly, Brendan, and myself traveled to Baltimore for a weekend of sports. It included a ballpark tour of Camden Yards, autographs with Adam Jones, watching the Capitals on Pratt Street, dinner at Sabatino's in Little Italy, and seeing the Orioles and Yankees (this night it was more of the Yankees).
While going through the ball park tour we saw Coach Joe Girardi hitting and throwing with his son. The tour itself took 1.5 hours and Coach Joe was out there the entire time frame. But one thing really stood out to me as we finished the tour in the bullpens. Joe and his son, Dante, were in the bullpen and one of the Yankees fans quickly asked Joe for his autograph (nothing unusual I am sure for a Yankee fan). And to my surprise Joe said, "Sorry I can't, I am playing catch with my son right now." Wow. What a statement a father just made to his son. With all the pressures and expectations of coaching the story franchise, Joe Girardi just spoke volumes of setting boundaries between his family and his job. During this 2 hour period Joe was focused on Dante and nothing was going to interrupt that time together. The other side of this picture that jumped out to me was that Dante allowed the instruction of his father. It wasn't just Joe pouring into his son, but it was his son giving back to him. It was a picture of a cultivated relationship that was making each other better - Joe a better father and Dante a better baseball player (he has a sweet batting stance).
As dads and people who have the opportunity to invest in the lives of young people, let us learn from the lesson observed: people matter, relationships are cultivated, and time is important.
Dear God, please allow us to develop the discipline of time with people who matter and whom you have entrusted us with.
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