Haillie came home with her sign up paper and informed me that she would be competing in ONLY the softball throw ~ her words: "I am AWESOME at that", but nothing else. You can imagine how that sat with me... and how it wasn't the answer I wanted or was willing to hear. So I kindly informed her that she WOULD be running, that she WOULD be running the 50 meter dash, AND that her tiny little legs WOULD be racing around the entire track as she ran in the 400 meter race.
She needed to understand that she would be running in all these events for the sole purpose of dad and mom being able to scream and cheer for her from the stands.
Then I proceeded to let her know that she would also be in TRAINING for this event and that Dad would be taking her to the track and teaching her the tricks to finishing the dreaded 400 (mom would have loved to, but mom's belly is bulging from a Nov due date - so she will sit on the sidelines and eat - and cheer).
Well, the big day came, and the excitement grew as she reached the stands filled with crazy 3rd graders, and noticed the junk food for after her races - I'll explain my idea of junk food some other time, we'll just say it isn't the same as Haillie's, but I did conceed on a few things.
When her races came she was pretty excited! She was in the last heat for the 50 M and came in 3rd - she was speedy for sure! Then she and Dad took off to do the softball throw and she came in 2nd in her line, but lost out to further throws. Then the 400 (no break in between all these events). I could not have been more proud! She was amazing! She followed her Dads instructions and really proved herself as a runner - even with tiny little legs to carry her. She did a fantastic job and made it the whole way around with no stops - she even sprinted from the 200 on! She was incredible and we had the time of our lives cheering her on!
To my future track star: life is a lot like a 400 M... just put one foot in front of the other and you'll eventually get EXACTLY where you need to be. Don't worry about the end from the beginning, just keep moving forward! And though sometimes you may not be able to see or hear them, you have loved ones that are watching your every step, and cheering for you with their whole hearts... you are one of the lucky ones who will NEVER run your race alone... NEVER!
Haillie's biggest fan!
Taking a break from all the excitement!
