Trust Your Child’s Instincts

Little girl leads a row of elephants

I took my ten-year-old daughter shopping for a new softball bat over the winter. Every bat they had, she said it was too light or too short. When we described the length and weight she was looking for, the sales associate shook his head and said that wasn’t possible! I decided to come back when the spring shipment came in.

We went again in March, to a different sports store this time, and she found exactly what she was looking for, and in her favorite color green. Her older sister shook her head and said it was too long and too heavy.

Today was her first softball practice. It rained lightly, but we were able to practice at a field with dugouts so the parents could stay dry. When it came time for my daughter to hit, the coach commented, “That’s the longest bat I’ve ever seen! Maybe you should use that next year.”

Then he pitched two balls, and the second one went far into right field. “You proved me wrong on what I just said about the bat,” he said with a disbelieving grin. Two pitches later, she hit another one far into left field.

I was laughing over in the dugout. She knew what she needed, and I trusted in that. She proved the disbelievers wrong!