"Comparison is the Thief of Joy"

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” As parents, we must keep this quote in the forefront of our minds as we parent our children as well as support the kids around our children. 

I saw this quote and it was like a weight of bricks on my consciousness. We all do it from time to time. "Why didn't my kid get that, he/she is way better than that child" or my favorite is when I hear a parent tell another parent that their child is way better than so and so and should have been selected somehow lowering said child's accomplishments.

Truth be told this is another one of those blogs where I am writing out loud to myself. As we enter the holiday season and should be thankful for all this life has provided, I still wake up some days wondering if it could be better and the "poor me" settles in. You try to fight it off and lift yourself up but ultimately getting up and out of the house is probably the only cure. This seems to happen alot in youth sports with the addition of social media. If you think social media has influenced your child on what they wear or what they eat imagine how much we as parents have been influenced. 

Everytime I see a kid holding up 25 packets that a college has mailed them I am always like whoa that's cool but then at some point in the train of thought i start to calculate each school and ponder if my child is good enough, has she reached out to that school, has she been missed. All negatives. Then I mentally slap myself and think of all the contacts and convos that my kids have had and try to be grateful. In the baseball world you can see kids playing in select events or being invited to schools for visits, same thing. Did they not see my son?

This is where the phrase above has everything to do with your mindset as a parent. Each child is their own entity. They have their own road to travel and as I have said before life is not fair. Sometimes the lesser player gets an invite and sometimes the lesser player does not. Sometimes you are not valuing your child incorrectly. We all believe in our kids and sometimes I am sure we think they are better than they are. Worry about you and your's and be grateful for all the memories and experience you can have and will have. Don't let someone else's work cloud yours. 

Understand that Facebook aka Bragbook is absolutely just that. It started out as a way for college kids to keep in touch and has somehow overtime became a ledger board for who is on vacation more or who is winning more in life. All of it is edited by the person posting. Remember those pictures our mom's used to get done "glamor photos" where they'd be all dolled up and looking great. Facebook, instagram and twitter are just that. Glamour photos of everyone's life. I get that I might be sounding mean or disingenuous but I love seeing my family cross the country on here and friends I have not seen post stuff. It's all entertainment. I think where it becomes a problem is when we watch little Jeffry hit 72 homeruns in a row online and start to think the kid is going pro at 12u. 

Social media should be watched more like we watched WWF as a kid, entertaining as all get up. You just never know who will win but you have a pretty good idea that Hulk Hogan is not gonna lose to the Iron Sheik. It is scripted, just like the post we all put out where our kid's only make diving catches and hit dingers. We do not post the strike outs and errors or the tears and early exits. Enjoy your story and try like hell not to worry about the next person. We all have a path and it will all work out in the end. Don't stare at the Glamour photo too much!