Jake has always struggled when dealing with his size. He's a small kid. A really small kid. Put it this way ... he's in 4th grade and wears a size 7 SLIM.
Sports have always been a huge part of Jake's life. Since he could walk. Whether it be participating in sports, watching sports, playing sports video games, reading sports books ... his life has always revolved around ... sports!
Well, as you may assume, he is being passed in by his peers, in both size and ability, like a car stalled on The Autobon. And it is crushing him ... and his self esteem. I mean, come on, it's not uncommon for some of his friends to weigh 85-90 pounds. He weighs 50.
Or he did until the New Year rolled around.
We were celebrating the beginning of 2008 at a friends house. This friend has a cousin who pitched for the Kansas City Royals ... and he happened to be at the party. Like a gift from above, it just so happened this "celebrity" (in Jake's eyes) used to be a small kid as well. And he was more than happy to offer up a bit of advice ...
"Eat a peanut butter sandwich every single night right before you go to bed."
Jake took this advice very seriously, as it must work ... this dude went on to play major league baseball.
So, every evening, just before teeth are to be brushed and lights are to be shut off, we make Jake a sandwich loaded with peanut butter and jelly. Some nights we surprise him with a huge ice cream sundae instead.
Believe it or not, Jake weighed in yesterday at 54 pounds. 4 pounds in 3 weeks. He feels like a "big man" now.
I'll keep you updated on his progress.
