I witnessed an incredible personified example of responsibility yesterday.

My son Bennett is 6 years old and already loves to play baseball.  His team was playing a tournament over the weekend and after winning the first two games on Saturday, we were poised to make a run at the championship come Sunday, but on this particular Sunday, Bennett woke up not feeling well.  He claimed that his legs hurt and sometimes complained that his head hurt.  His mother and I knew he was tired after a long week of Kanakuk Kampout, a church camp that had him going hard all day for the 5 previous weekdays.  It is also important to note that he is an early riser, getting up between 6 and 7 every day, no matter how hard he played the day before or how late he stayed up.  Bennett’s attitude was pretty sorry Sunday morning, so we sent him back to bed and he slept another 2 hours.  For a kid who rarely naps anymore, this is a huge nap.  When he woke up from that he felt better, but not 100% and was even running a low grade fever.  This is where his exemplary responsibility begins.  He was emphatic about wanting to play.  He said, “I really hope I get to play!  I want to play!  I want to go help my team win the championship!”

So we set a series of tasks and hurdles before him that he must complete before we would even considering letting him play.  He had to take some medicine, eat, take a bath and then we would see how he was feeling.  Despite not really wanting to do any of those things, he completed all his expected tasks and was even running around the house, saying “Dad, look how fast I can run!  I feel great now!”  I really believe he was feeling good.  So we took him to the game.

This is probably the best point in the story to pause and say that I now feel bad for having taken him.  In hindsight it was probably not the wisest parenting decision we’ve ever made, but the story still has some real value illustrating character.

We made it to the ballpark in time for he and I to go through a light warm up and we were keeping him full of fluids along with cool towels on his neck.  He played in the outfield for two innings, backing up every throw he needed to, breaking on every ball hit in his general direction and put forth full effort.  Before his second inning in the field he asked to sit out, but I challenged him to go one more inning, which he did with determination.  His first at bat was a success and after one strike on a missed bunt attempt and a foul ball on the second bunt attempt, got a hard base hit up the middle.  This comes from a kid that has struggled to hit the ball all year when it is thrown either by the machine or live arm, hence the bunt attempts.  He is actually a great bunter, fast runner and enjoys this aspect of his game because it is so unique amongst our team as well as amongst the teams we play.  His second at bat was not as good.  He had started to lose his color and sat down in the on deck circle.  Yet he still walked to the plate, because it was his turn.  Since our dugout was on the first base side, our assistant coach that was at first noticed Bennett not doing well and checked with him before the first pitch, but Bennett tried to hit anyway.  Bennett tried to bunt that first pitch, but it was obvious from his feeble attempt at the ball that he was not feeling well.  That is when my friend and our first base coach Nick Price, stopped the game, called over the umpire and decided to pull Bennett from the game.  As Bennett left the field, his mother met him at the dugout and just a few steps outside the dugout, Bennett got sick.  The team mothers rallied around him, getting him cooled off and recovering.

I immediately checked on him after the inning since I was coaching third base and his request was to stay through the rest of the game as it probably only had another half inning.  He wanted to stay with his teammates.  Since his color was returning and he had cooled off, we agreed.  We won the game and the championship was next, but two hours away.  Bennett sincerely wanted to stay for the rest of the day and be with his team as they played the championship game.  It was obvious he did not need to play anymore on this particular day, but he really wanted to be there.  His mother and I let him stay for a bit, watching some of the game that followed ours, but ultimately decided he needed to get home and get some rest.  On the way home he asked several times when the championship game was to be played, who I thought we would play and if we could win.  As we were putting him to bed and just before he fell asleep during his bedtime story, the last question he asked me was if I thought his team was playing and winning the game.

He slept well last night and is already feeling better.

While this was not in fact one of my better parenting decision, it revealed an element of Bennett’s character I admire very much.  His sense of responsibility to do what he has committed to do and what is expected of him is exemplary, even at the young age of 6.  He was so determined to play and fulfill his duty to his team, that he would make tough choices.  I also admire that even though he felt bad, he went out and played hard.  He worked hard despite the way he felt.  What an incredible example and inspiration he is for me today!