the fun run

I am forewarning you all, there is some bragging involved in this blog, so if that bothers you, then don't read! But this is my blog so I can do all the bragging I want.

Today at the kids' elementary school they had a fun run for the kids. I went over to the school to cheer the kids on and watch them run. I really had no intention of taking pictures but I happened to have my camera in my purse from last night's blue and gold banquet. I am so glad I had my camera.

When I got to the school Breanna had already run half of her race (they ran for half an hour). She was out on the field running and she had a very determined look on her face. She apparently had run the whole time. After every lap they would mark off that lap on the back of their t-shirts. Breanna ran 37 laps (and she wasn't shy about telling everyone she saw that she ran 37 laps, which was more than any of her friends or neighbors we talked to). Most kids averaged 25-30 laps. I was really surprised by this for some reason because she is small. I guess I should have known since Breanna is fiercely competative that she would have pushed herself hard. I know I shouldn't have been proud because I guess that isn't a great quality, but I was proud, and I don't mind saying it. There really is something nice about seeing your children really put forth a good effort in something and succeed, even if it is just a fun run.

Joshua ran right after the first graders. Joshua is another story. Joshua isn't really competative and he really doesn't like running or exercising much at all. He was not looking forward to this fun run.

I, on the other hand, had other worries. Most of you know I am extremely protective of Joshua. Because of his diabetes, I tend to worry about him excessively. I will admit that I had the thought of telling his teachers he shouldn't run for that long because his blood sugar might drop too low. I knew I couldn't do that though because we have tried so hard to tell Joshua that he can do anything he wants to do.

Most of the kids were just walking and talking to their friends during the fun run. I was expecting Joshua to get about 25 laps (the low end of average), but he ran almost the whole way. He walked a bit here and there, and he didn't run really fast, but he didn't give up at all. He ended up getting 35 laps. There were only about 4 in his class that ran more than that. On his last lap he sprinted (this isn't really fast for him, but he sprinted) and made it to the finish line with two seconds to go. I actually got choked up when I saw him get that last check mark on his shirt because I realized that Joshua really can do anything he wants to do. I don't know that I really believed that before, but he proved that if his wants something badly enough, he can do it.