Hunter

But the biggest difference, the one Blake’s parents are most proud of, has come in Blake’s social life. He’s in close touch with all his friends from school, and when he shows up for lunch in the cafeteria, as he does once a week, he’s mobbed by students who want to be his friend. “He never went to ball games before he started competing,” Hunter says. “Now he goes to every single game at his high school. He’s definitely become more social.”

It may have been harder to convince Mike at first, but he’s coming around now. He’s had to adapt as a father and as a husband, he says. He’s had to learn to live with uncertainty. “The uncomfortable part with Blake is that he’s on a different path,” Mike says. “So I do a lot of praying for him. I want him to enjoy his life, his whole life.”

There’s a pause, and then Mike asks, “What color is a yield sign?”

“Yellow,” I say at first. “Wait -- no, it’s red.”

“It’s been red for 20 years,” Mike says. “But we still want it to be yellow somehow. We’re all tied to past ways of doing things. Thinking about that, it opens my eyes.

“I don’t understand gaming, I don’t understand the whole computer thing, I don’t know what to think of it. But if Blake pursues his passion and we do everything we can, we won’t have any regrets.”