Today as I watched Ethan through the window I laughed like crazy and nearly broke into tears realizing my baby is growing up so fast.
On his way out to the backyard Ethan stopped and asked in a very serious tone for a hat and a football. He didn't ask for anyone to join him outside, he just needed those two things pronto! Brian gave Ethan the hat off his head, he popped it on his mop covered top, paused for a moment, and then turned it backwards. Then he grabbed the football and off he went.
A few minutes later I was walking with Luke to the kitchen and I saw Ethan out in the backyard, so I stopped to satisfy my curiosity of why the hat and ball were such a hot commodity. I watched him as he would throw the football across the yard as hard as he could, and then immediately rush after it with a seemingly excess amount of determination. If he threw it over the trampoline he would jump onto it and daringly do a flip before launching himself off to track down the ball and perform the routine all over again.
I found this extremely odd as Brian's many attempts to date to teach Ethan pig skin basics and run plays with him have never amounted to anything more than a frustrated father and a disinterested boy. That is until I noticed the half dozen or so tween girls jumping on the trampoline in the yard behind ours and how Ethan would glance in their direction after each throw, run, jump, flip, and ball recovery to see if they were watching him.
Finally all his efforts paid off when one little girl asked him to throw the ball to her.
He got set and threw it over the fence to her with all of the masculinity he could muster out of his sweet 6 year old body.
She got it and threw it back over and he smiled wide realizing his impressive display was a hit.
This went on for a little while ... and a little while longer ... and a little while longer ... until I sent Brian out to refocus my little boy's attention back on the gridiron.
