This is going to sound strange, but when Terry and I used to go to our children's parent-teacher conferences, it was always somewhat uncomfortable for me to hear a teacher talk at length about how much they enjoyed having one of our kids in class.
Don't get me wrong, I really did love hearing the compliments. We were blessed with good kids who worked hard to do well in school.
My son Jared worked particularly hard at figuring out the bare minimum effort he needed to do well. Like, if 90% got you an 'A,' he would inevitably clock in at 90.2%.
But hey, it was still an 'A,' and we'll get back to Jared in a moment.
I don't know the exact reason why effusive praise of my kids made me feel somewhat awkward, but I have two theories:
(1) I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop: "Chloe is a great student, BUT..." Rarely did this happen, but I always assumed it would happen.
(2) Being born and raised in Ohio – which I don't consider a Midwestern state but which does have certain Midwestern sensibilities – there is a part of my brain that assumes you should always do your best and not expect anyone to say too much about it. And the same holds true for your kids.
Returning to Jared, following are two videos I posted on Facebook last fall that illustrate the point. Both are taken from Cleveland Guardians baseball broadcasts, and both feature Hall of Fame play-by-play man Tom Hamilton saying very, very nice things about my eldest son.
As mentioned here before, Jared works in communications with Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. He's good at what he does and puts a lot of time and effort into keeping it that way.
He has matured greatly since his teenage years and is a good example for any young person looking to get into the sports business.
Jared did a one-year internship with the Guardians early in his career, and during that time he got to know Tom. Now, whenever the Guardians travel to Tampa to take on the Rays, the two of them always catch up.
That resulted in this clip from September 4, 2025, in which Hammy (as he's known) gives Jared a shout out and calls him "one of the bright young stars in media relations."
That was so nice of Tom and very much unexpected. And it could have ended there with a nice memory.
But a few days later on the broadcast, Hammy was at it again. This time he not only mentioned the birth of our grandson Cal, he also heaped more praise on Jared (listen to the very end of the clip).
When Jared received this second mention, I started to wonder if people thought we had compromising photos of Tom or that he owed us money or something.
Again, I loved it, but...I also squirmed a little. And knowing Jared, I think he probably did, too.
All of which is to show that either I need to loosen up or maybe you really can have too much of a good thing.
Now, you could argue this whole post was just an excuse to share these two videos and brag about my son. And you would be right.
But in my defense, my joy over Tom Hamilton's comments is mixed with just enough discomfort to make the whole thing feel OK.
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