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When Greg and I decided to have a child I always assumed that he or she would be into sports. Greg and I both like sports and played sports and well you begin to daydream of your child in adorable oversized T-ball uniforms. The games where Greg would be coaching and I would be taking pictures from the sidelines. Or soccer games where everyone chases after the ball like a swarm of bees.
I never assumed that I would give birth to a boy with natural athletic talent but with zero desire to play sports. No to baseball. No to soccer. No. No. No. “The shirts are too itchy”, “It’s too loud”, “I don’t like when everyone watches”. You name it, we heard it and I started to reluctantly bashed away the visions of Jaxson on sports teams.
Then a few weeks ago something changed.
A cute girl a few years older than Jax told him that she and all her friends call him “Speedo” because he is such a fast runner…
Two days later at Silva Valley Elementary, they announced that Cross Country would be starting and well can you guess who wanted to sign up? Yep!
Greg and I could hardly believe it-SPORTS? JAXSON?! Woah!
The day of the first Cross Country meet I was SO nervous for Jaxson- a feeling I had only had before on his first day of Kindergarten and his first day of the new school after we moved. I don’t think Jaxson knew what he was getting himself into when he signed up for Cross Country. I really don’t think he actually understood how far he would be running. Then right before the meet they handed out a shirt for them to wear- would it be itchy? Lastly to all of our surprises, the meet wasn’t just against 1 other school but there were 6 schools there. Hundreds of kids and parents were everywhere! All the things that Jaxson did not like about sports were colliding during the first sporting event of his life!!!
Were sports about to be over as quickly as they began?
Let’s just say the jury is still out on that. We have 2 meets under our belt and so far the popsicles they give the runner at the end of the race seem to make Jaxson pretty happy! Yes, he seems to be in it for the treats!
And that’s more than fine with us! Watching our son taking on an activity which I know is not only physically hard but also challenging for his personality type is amazing! The pride I feel watching him run is unlike any pride I have ever felt for anything before in my life!! Im prouder watching him do these races than I have ever been for my own accomplishments. Let’s just say I might be cheering him on SO LOUDLY that people move away from me!
Parenthood really is something, NOTHING prepares you for it. A quote that can best sum up my feelings on raising Jaxson is by Elizabeth Stone:
“Making the decision to have a child – it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ”
Here’s to never assuming what your child will want to do and here’s to the popsicles! May they always be cold and sweet after a long cross country race!
