My oldest son loved basketball. There was just one problem. He took it very seriously. When he was in the 7th grade he was chosen for the "A" team, and he asked if he could shave his head! I choked out the question. "Why would you want to do that?" He responded, "Because I want to be just like Michael Jordon." I think Michael Jordon was the reason he let me call him Mikey. His middle name is Michael, you see. Anyway, the question made me more proud than you can imagine. This statement from my son meant that I had succeeded at teaching my children not to see different colors of skin. I gently said, "Well, son, I know you may not realize this, but Michael Jordon is black. You are white." He didn't even blink before he replied, " I wanna be White Mike." My 13 year old son became quite agitated when I told him that he would not be shaving his head - a buzz cut, okay; a shaved head - not okay. "They won't let you in school!" To which he replied, "Cool!
After school was out for the year he joined a summer league at a nearby town. In the first game, he played like his life depended on it. Since he has anger "issues" he left the game snapping everyone's head off because he perceived that he didn't play a perfect game. Well, we had quite a talk about having fun with summer league basketball. The very next game he seemed much more relaxed, I knew that I had made a big difference in my son's life with the inspiring speech that I gave to him. It was a proud moment in a Mom's life.
I was relaxed because I knew my son was relaxed because he had listened to me, for once in his life. He was going to have fun playing basketball! Our family watched him dribbling the ball down the court when a fellow from the opposing team tried to steal the ball from him. My son held on to the ball while the other guy held just as tight. Now, my son was a light-weight. He was tall but very slim. Okay, he was skinny. Anyway, suddenly the player from the other team pulled the ball upward, and my son's feet left the floor! He had the biggest grin, scanning the stands until he spotted me.. Suddenly a roar of laughter filled the gym. Uh-oh. I thought that would embarrass him so much he would never play basketball again, never talk to me again, never go in public again, never go to school again.
But,miracle of miracles! He was laughing, too! Everyone was laughing! It is a visual I will never forget. The boy that was holding that basketball and my skinny son mid-air, horizontal to the floor, just stood there not knowing what to do. Even the referee was laughing.
