14 Laps!

Michaela’s never been the most sporty kid, but she was game to participate in her school’s jog-a-thon. (Not that we gave her a choice, but…)

She set a goal of doing 10 laps. I have no idea where that came from, but that’s what she picked. This morning at breakfast she said, “Mom, I don’t think I can do 10 laps.” I told her as long as she tries her best, it doesn’t matter how many laps she does. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true.

When the jog-a-thon started this morning, it was already about 75 degrees out. She was wearing her bright green kindergarten-level shirt, a hat she got on our trip, and a nervous smile. The event started and she was off. Slowly, walking with her teacher and another friend.

It definitely didn’t look like her best. She meandered for a lap or two, stopping to eat oranges between laps and drink water, and I offered to walk with her.

Well, she didn’t want to walk– she wanted to run! She took off, holding my hand and pulling me along. I ended up telling her to slow down (not least of which because I wasn’t wearing running clothes) so we could be slow and steady, to hit her goal of 10 laps. We did some laps together and she did a few with other friends, but in the end, she did 14 laps before scarfing down more orange slices.

I was very proud of her, and she was proud of herself. She truly did her best.