The Future?

My father-in-law, Al, is one of the best out there. He treats me like a daughter, not a daughter-in-law. When I came home to a mouse in my garage and Ryan was nowhere to be found, Al came (laughing all the way) to get it out. He ran to get me ice cream when I was pregnant. And, the number of times he has come over to fix something or help with a project are countless. Ryan only has one brother, so when Cambria was born, the only person more excited than Al that she was a girl, was Ryan.

But, he still has high expectations for her. Ryan's family is athletes. Ryan was an amazing track star and his brother was the track and football player that every other team wanted to crush. So, it comes with no surprise that Cambria (and all future children) are expected to be star athletes. Almost every time we're together, Al dreams (out loud) about going to her games and meets and how fast she could be one day.

I know she's only 11 months (kinda in denial she'll be 1 on Friday), but after hearing this time and again, I feel the obligation to prepare him for the worst. I mean, it's no secret that I am nowhere near athletically inclined (though, Al likes to ignore that fact and instead focus on how fast my sister was a track star, so athletic ability is SOMEWHERE in my family). And, I know a lot can change in 10 years, but Cambria is almost 1 and has absolutely no interest in walking. If I try to get her to walk, she'll bend and sit instead. This, coupled with the fact that she has been showing signs of having my personality instead of her dad's, makes me think athletics may not be in her future. At least not after age 7, when micro sports are over and true talent starts to rise to the top.

So, at dinner the other night I say, "You know, there is a really good chance she will steer more towards the arts or music instead of sports." And although I think he was thinking, "She could do both," he obliged and we started talking about how she may play an instrument, be into plays or in the choir. After a 5 minute conversation about this, I threw out the possibility that she may be a genius and be the smart, cute geek that doesn't have to try hard at school, never has to study for tests and still gets straight A's. You know, the person we always wished we were. As we looked over at Cambria to size her up for a Genius Award, she had her own idea and was ready for us with this face. It's kinda hard to tell, but she was making the fishy face at us, in between saying "uh oh." Hopefully that will silence her Papa for awhile!