The boy,the ball, and the broken window.

Today was, ”teaching Cody to throw day”, and I would like to give all the dads some tips for this very exciting phase in the father son bonding process. The teaching part was simple, despite the 2 broken windows and bruised cat. In fact the first window to go made me so happy, as the ball actually went forward, not behind him like the previous 37 attempts. I was certain his future as a pitcher for the Yankees was secure. Until now I had made all the right moves, but that could not last.

As a reward for all the hard work Cody had put into the throwing lesson, I gave him a little money to buy anything he wanted. The “anything he wanted” part was the first little mistake. After an hour or so of putting back the toasters, coffee machines and the other kitchen appliances he had chosen, we settled on an appropriate “throwing lesson money” present. A ball. The ball itself was a great idea, the fact that it was a rubber bouncing ball was not such a great idea.

Now lets recap, an autistic boy who has just learnt to throw, is now in possession of a little, but highly elastic, projectile. As we got home Cody decided to put his new found throwing skills to the test with his new, very bouncy, toy. The living room became the test facility, and I use the military term ”facility” intentionally, as the living room resembled Baghdad Airport, projectiles flying in every direction.

It was now that my military training came into its own, as leopard crawling was the only safe way to move between the two secure areas, or the kitchen and bedroom as they were formally known. I managed to secure the red zone and neutralize the threat, or as the rest of the family saw it, put the ball in my pocket. Luckily the phrase “ gone to be with its mother” still carries some weight with Cody, or I would have had to tell him the truth. That his precious little bouncing ball is now hundreds of little balls in the neighbours garden.

I have decided to postpone archery lessons for a few more years.

Take care and laugh a little