Tears of a Mother

Being a mother can be very emotional and it's tiring. 

On Friday I had two events to attend. The first was a track meet that Beth was running in. She's been training for the last month to run the 400 m, before and after school three times a week.  She has loved the practices in a way that I can't imagine.  Just imagining myself run makes my knees twist.  And I must say, Beth has never been all that graceful when she runs.  I used to watch her during recess through my kitchen window and her long flailing limbs did not look like they had a future in track.

However, with training and growth, she's awesome!  All the flailing is gone, and been replaced with strength and coordination.

I had to drive half an hour for an event that lasted 1 minute and 16 seconds, but it was worth it.  It was so exciting and seeing her with her new friends, all supporting each other with encouragement and practice, made me get all tear-y.  

She came in 2nd, and then replaced a sick member of the relay team, getting a 2nd there as well.  This week she goes to the city track meet for Catholic schools.

Other people's kids had me crying too.  One boy in a button-down shirt and jean shorts, totally unprepared and untrained (and un-entered in the event), was fooling around in the triple-jump pits and I think would have easily placed if he'd actually been entered.  The schools had varying degrees of coaching available and I cried while watching a girl continuously stumble over the triple-jump steps just minutes before the event started.  She looked so sad and didn't have the supportive friends that Beth had, but she didn't give up.  I just kept praying that she'd make herself proud in the final moments.  She didn't. 

After Beth's events were done, I rushed to Laura's DARE graduation.  DARE is an educational program put on by the police service to teach grade 6 kids about drug and alcohol abuse and how to make wise choices.

Laura's friend Ella (who has been part of our household for 7 years now) read her essay on drugs and alcohol, pledging to steer clear of all of it and shared her strategies for decisions.  She was totally afraid to read her well-written essay, but did it beautifully.  More tears for me. 

I'm not sure why Alice rarely causes tears for me.  I try not to treat her as the "baby", but there's just something about her character, even when she makes me proud, that makes me smile instead of tear up. 

Her piano recital (including this duet with Beth) was just joyful.  No tears required.