Dreams of MLB

Every time Camden picks up a ball and hurls it across the room with his left hand, I look over to find Matt beaming like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Look, he used his left hand again," he'll say excitedly.

Because, you know, left handed pitchers have a huge advantage in Major League Baseball. And if Camden is going to be a Baltimore Oriole one day, he'll have an easier time making the team if he's a lefty. Pure and simple logic, right?

But conversations like these inevitably lead me to think about my younger brother. Put simply, he is not an athlete. But that didn't stop my parents from signing him up for every sport known to mankind when he was a kid. Let me clarify: my parents aren't the Stage Parent types. They didn't put unrealistic pressure on us, ever. I think they truly believed that they just hadn't found the "right" sport for my brother to play, so they kept searching. He tried soccer, baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, and bowling. Most attempts were short-lived, lasting only a season or two. I think it was some time after he quit the wrestling team in high school that we all realized that he simply wasn't an athlete.

As "After School Special" as it might sound, my brother truly came into his own towards the end of high school. He excelled in all things creative. He put together a band with his friends & booked small gigs. He wrote songs. And stories. When he stopped trying to be something he clearly wasn't, he found himself. (I know, I know- cue the sappy end-of-episode music.)

If Camden dons the orange and black one day? You can bet Matt & I will be in the front row at Camden Yards, cheering him on (and probably holding up embarrassing homemade signs).

If Camden decides that golf is more his speed? We'll be thrilled. And I'll do my best to overcome my long-standing opinion that watching golf is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

If he decides to try out for the basketball team, Matt will take him to the court on weekends to perfect his free throws.

If he decides to follow in his uncle's footsteps and start a band, I'll be proud to be a groupie. And if he gets the lead role in the school play, Matt & I will be the cheesy parents who show up every single night to give him a standing ovation.

Because no matter what Camden decides to become, we'll always be his biggest fans. And there is only one thing I truly want him to be:

Happy.