Play catch with your kids

Play catch with your kids. And Barbies. And Legos. And tag. Dance in the kitchen with them. Mix the cookie dough. Shoot hoops in the driveway. Play cards. Go fishing. Jam to Guitar Hero.

I can remember from when I was a kid that I lived for when my dad would throw the baseball with me. It felt so good to be out in the grassy alley beside our home and to just toss the ball back and forth with him and my brother. Even now, as I remember those days, I smile and feel, deep inside, that sense of love that went with each toss and each instruction that accompanied it, “aim where you’re throwing,” “grip the ball across the seams,” “follow through.”

Even though my kids are grown, I still posted “Play catch with your kids” on the refrigerator because it does take me back to my youth with my dad, to memories of my kids, and to dreams of playing with my grandkids.

Play catch with your kids. And Polly Pockets. Toss the football. Yell Yahtzee! Find Waldo. Swim in the pool. Create new games. Love them.