I remember:
being impressed that Emma was willing to try something totally new and work on being a pole vaulter. It's a hard sport and scary and she did a great job. It was fun to watch her fly through the air.
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the craziness of trying to attend middle school and high school track meets (all over the county) with a newborn who was REALLY picky about his nap schedule. Once Emma texted me a really nice thank you for driving 40 minutes to see her and I replied "Of course. This part is one of my favorite parts of parenting!" And it is.
feeling literally sick to my stomach as I watched Gabe run his first race (the 1600). He is really talented in long distances and he had high expectations for his 8th grade year. The first race was tough because he was beat by a 7th grader that came out of nowhere (the kid is also a sprinter and had never practiced with the long distance runners). Gabe handled it well but it's SO NERVE WRACKING watching your kids race!
fun texts between my family (especially my super talented runner brother Matt) giving play by plays of meets and results.
loving having something to talk to my very silent Gabe about! We discussed strategies and input from other runners and practices and nutrition. I remember feeling extra love for and from him and I think it came from the sacrifices I was making to be present and from the intense interest I was showing in his life.
his best race! It took 3 races for him to figure out how to beat this 7th grader and when it did it was so fun. Plus he PRd with a 4:56 mile which made him the fastest miler in the history of his middle school! (Because the kid is a sprinter, he couldn't beat him in the last 200 meters. He had to stay WAY ahead of him the whole race and it was so fun to watch him pull ahead enough to hold Mitchell off in the end.) (Also: Mitchell is the nicest kid ever and it was truly a blessing for Gabe to compete with him.)
Emma's surprise at standing on the podium because she placed 7th in JV in districts.
the disappointment of the district finals. There is one boy who is CRAZY fast in Gabe's grade and he was always #1 in all of the meets. Because he'd gotten so close to him at the school meet, Gabe had hopes to maybe beat him at districts. Well... it was an off week and he placed 3rd behind Fielding and Mitchell. (Knowing what to say to your child in those circumstances is so tricky. I think I tried all of the tacts--comfort, blowing it off, investigating why, tons of praise, silence. Any great insights out there?)
just tons of pride at Gabe's total determination and drive and work ethic. I love that he's found something he loves and feels good at.
His first high school cross country meet is this Saturday!
3 comments:
You have amazingly talented kids!!
Great action shot of Emma! That is really neat how she put herself out there to try something new...and HARD!
Loved reading about Gabe and how he worked hard to figure out how to beat that impressive 7th grader and how he holds the record for the fastest mile in his middle school!
I remember that picture Gabe using his method acting skills to act out how he ran a race once. He's funny :)
I love track and cross country. Our son went to BYU's distance running camp for the last few summers. It was very informative & motivating.
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