5K A Success

Nov 15, 2010

So, She did it!  Chloe' made it through the 5K.  It was hard and I do admit that I had a sinking feeling while I was waiting at the finish line.  A lot of thoughts went running through my head:  Was 8 years old too young to run/walk a 5k?  Will she be able to finish?  How will she feel when she does finish?  I also have to admit that when the other girls started to cross the finish line- I began to worry.  We waited, what seemed forever, but finally- down the track- I saw a bright green t-shirt.  I knew it must be her.  I began to walk towards her, trying to encourage her to keep going.  There was a look of pain on her face and quite honestly, it scared me.  She had two teachers from her school there, one on each side of her.  Almost as if they were dragging her towards the finish line.  I walked towards her and smiled. " You are almost there", I said.  At that moment, I wanted to pick her up and carry her over the finish line.  I held back.  She began to jog towards the finish line- the last few steps, she was determined.  I began to jog behind her, cheering her on.  I stopped right before the finish line, stood back and watched her cross it!  I was delighted and SO PROUD!  I quickly darted towards the end of the finish line, only to find her gulping a bottle of water.  She saw me- I saw her- we hugged.  That is when the tears started to flow.  She was exhausted.  Her main concern was that she finished last.  Of course I told her that winning was not important- finishing, now that was the challenge.  She succeeded!
Now, I had thought about walking the race with her.  But I didn't.  First of all, I have never been able to walk more than 2 miles at a time.  The few times I did it- I felt like Fred Samford- "I'm a coming Elizabeth"!  Seriously, I do not think I could have finished the race.  The humiliation of it all.  Having to be picked up on a golf cart and taken to the finish line.  NO THANK YOU!  Not to mention that the runners fee was twenty-five dollars.  To be honest, Christmas is right around the corner and I simply could not justify spending Christmas money on a race that I probably wouldn't finish.  So, I have a lot of guilt, maybe if I had gone with her she would have done better.  Hog wash,  We might have both ended up in the golf  cart.  No, this is one thing that she had to do on her own, at least with out me.  Plus, she did have classmates and teachers from her school running too.  She wasn't alone.
Even though she has declared that she will not run it again, I hope she changes her mind.  She enjoyed the training twice a week, running, walking, playing with classmates and getting to know some of the teachers better.  Three of her best friends were also in the race.  It is a great program that builds esteem and teaches encouragement. 
When she did cross the finish line, she received a medal for finishing.  As a treat, we went to Steak N Shake for lunch- her favorite place to eat.  By this time, she was over being last and excited that she finished.  Oh, her feet  and her back were hurting and she hungry and tired.  And then it happend.  She smiled and quickly showed the waitress her medal!  PRIDE!  I finally saw pride in her eyes.  As a parent, we are often proud of our children.  Most of us make a point to tell them that we are proud.  Especially when they pass a test, bring home good grades or make some spectacular refridgerator art.  I think that is important to let your pride in your children show.  But- I also think we need to teach our children what pride is all about.  They need to have pride in their own accomplishments, they need to be proud in themselves.  It strengthens their self esteem and teaches them goal setting and planning so that they can achieve their goals. 
I will always show my girls how proud I am of them and I will teach them that being proud of their own accomplishments is just as important as trying to please everyone else.  If they are facing a challenge- let them work it out, if they succeed- make sure they know that they should be proud of themselves.  If they fail- and at some point, they will- again, let them work it out.  Be sympathetic, but above all, be encouraging.  When they were beginning to walk,  they would fall-  we picked them up, tended to their wounds (both physical and mental) and we sent them on their way- to try again.  Finally, they had it down.  Their walking turned into running.  Watching them grow up is scary and satisfying.  Just like Chloe' running a 5k, we are all in training.  We are training so that we can fulfill our destiny and be the person that God intended us to be.  Sometimes we want to give up, we want to cry and we want to yell.  We may have lost sight of our purpose.  Do not despair- God knows our purpose, we just have to figure it out.  And until that time we must keep running until we cross that finish line. 

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