Abracadabra!
Ahhhh the magic of a Cross Country Race –
Have you ever attended a cross country race? If not, you need to go at least once! Last weekend, I was driving through my town and noticed a bunch of school buses and kids in running shoes jogging all over town. This kind of action and school bus invasion could only mean one thing – It was Richland Invite Cross Country weekend! I couldn’t help it – I got all excited like a giddy school girl with a crush on the History teacher. {Remember those days??!}
Anyhow, I dashed home and informed the family that I would be attending that meet the next day. And anyone who wanted to join me could. Were they as excited about it as me… no. But that didn’t squelch my enthusiasm.
My oldest son, Kade, and I ended up on the Cross Country course on Saturday after his soccer game. He was a bit sluggish and wasn’t overly excited about being there. Did this hamper my CC excitement? NO! And after watching the JV boy’s race … my son was very into the entire energy and feel of the event. No way was he leaving until he had seen the big guns run the Varsity race.
The winner of the Varsity boy’s race (3.1 miles) won with a time of 15:06!This kid was flying and it was inspiring to see him run the miles with such ease and speed.
As Kade and I were walking to the car he asked: “Mom, that was fun I’m glad we did that.”
And with a HUGE smile and a couple of tears running down my face I replied: “Kade, Cross Country running for me helped me become who I am today.”
“I’m going to run Cross Country.” He said.
{Big smiles and more giddy excitement on my end}
I can’t wait to cheer for him and watch him grow and become through the magical experience of being part of a team and feeling the satisfaction that comes from finishing something challenging.
Cheers to the challenges in life – the hills, the finishes, the miles, the wins, the losses and to all the memories!
PS:
The above runner’s tag was from my freshman year in High School. Our Varsity boys and girls team had qualified for the State Meet. It was the last cross country race I saw my brother run. He was the #1 runner at our school. He died the following summer in a car accident … I do hope he finds time to remember all the miles he ran and races he won!!! I reflect on those quite often.
