Big Feelings Mean He Cares

Beckett had a rough game this weekend. And honestly? It turned into one of my favorite parenting moments — eventually.

Strikeout. Pop out. Then a solid hit, thrown out at first because the other team made a genuinely great play. My heart hurt for him watching it. You could see it all over his face — that he cared, that he was disappointed, that he was trying.

But then his attitude kept escalating. And somewhere in there, my hurt-for-him quietly turned into "oh no, this attitude is wrong — and his attitude is a reflection on me." Mom guilt, mom shame, all of it, right there in the dugout.

Then I caught myself. He's 7. He doesn't have the tools yet. He's not having an attitude problem — he's having big feelings. And the big feelings mean he cares.

That night, we talked about it. Not about toughening up. Not about controlling it. About feeling the feeling, taking a couple of deep breaths, and letting it go.

Letting go doesn't mean giving up.

Why we made "Let It Go" our anchor this week

That dugout moment is exactly why this week's anchor at The Anchored Home is Let It Go — inspired by David Hawkins' Letting Go. Our Morning Mindset themes don't come from a content calendar; they come from real life. This week, real life handed us a baseball game.

Sometimes letting go means deep breaths. Sometimes it means walking away from a hard thing for a minute so we can come back with a clearer mind. And sometimes it means noticing what's not serving us anymore — a thought, a habit, a way of reacting — and gently releasing it.

This week, the whole family is practicing the same little rhythm:

Feel it.  Name it.  Breathe.  Release it.  Then begin again.

Our copywork this week

Same anchor, three levels — so the whole family can practice together:

Mamas: "The way out is through release. Whatever you cling to becomes the thing that holds you."

Big kids: "If it is heavy, put it down."

Little kids: "Put it down."

And a word about the little sister

I can't write about tournament weekends without bragging on Piper for a second. Long tournament days are a lot for a little one, and she is such a trooper. She's made friends at the field, she cheers her big brother on, and she's perfectly happy holding down the family tent where the kids camp out between games. Watching her make her own little world at the ballpark? That's its own kind of proud-mama moment.

So here's to the rough games, the big feelings, and the deep breaths in the dugout. They're not the moments that derail us — they're the moments that teach us. Feel it, name it, breathe, release it… and begin again.