Mortality

So, Zach got a basketball goal from Santa this year. Because of the weather and Christmas commitments, it took a couple of extra days to get the thing put together and put in place. Now that its together my two older sons wanted to play me in HORSE. Seems that when we had a basketball goal before, we played HORSE or PIG (Based on the amount of time to play) quite a bit. So, yesterday Josh and I get out on the driveway to play. Josh wins the first game. He raises his hands in the air and yells "Finally!". He says that he's never beaten me before. I have a hard time believing that, but okay. We play two more games and the old man wins them both. As far as I'm concerned two out of three means I'm still undefeated. Tonight Moose and I play...I win the first one, he wins the second one and does a happy dance. I hang on to win game number three. Still undefeated in my eyes, but I can see that the winning record won't last too long. My two older boys are way too young and strong for this old man to hang with much longer.

I remember playing HORSE in the driveway with my dad. He never let me win, but I remember the first time I beat him too. Why is it that the boys want to beat their dads so bad? I know that I wanted to and its obvious by the way my boys reacted that they wanted to...is it a sign that manhood has been achieved? Is it the sign that we've become better than our dads? I know that when it came to basketball or baseball I was a better athlete than my dad, but over the years I've quickly assessed that I haven't even come close to being the man he was. I was blessed with a great example of what a dad is supposed to be. It's a goal that I strive for everyday. I hope that when my boys pass me by in sports, they pass me and become better men too.