The first National Meet

We headed to Lexington today for Riggs to compete in his first official national meet. He had high hopes and seemed to carry a weight on his shoulders with the badge of being the fastest third grader in the state. Derby City Athletic Club is so different from Goshen...you feel so much more on your own...which is good and bad. We are thankful for the Grendis and the Frymans for their smiles and encouragement...it gives us the sense of being a team that we need.We got him ready and the race began.

 I cheered for him as the race started.....

 I cheered for him in the middle of the race.....

 I cheered for him at the finish line.....

 Go Riggs...Go Riggs...I yelled...he was third in a national race...against some of the best kids in the nation...and I was so proud of him! I ran to the shoot to see him exit the finishing area and give him a hug and tell him good job, buddy! But, camera ready, for a prideful smile...I found this deflated little boy who screamed NO in my face and ran away from me....

 Lila must have said 100 times...Where is My Riggs...I want to hug him.....

 He had been beaten by a kid from Delaware...and a kid from Chicago...who today, with Riggs not having his best race...were faster....a hard lesson for his heart...on the stage for awards it took him forever to even look forward...

 He was sad...disappointed...but the third fasted kid in this national race. I later asked him why he was so upset..he said he thought the kid in the green who passed him from Chicago was from Team Kentucky and that if he passed him he would not be the fastest third grader in the state....this is a badge he wears with honor. I knew he was happy about it but until today I didn't realize how much it meant to him.

 As he settled into who beat him...who passed him...and into the fact that although he did get passed and he did come in third...that everyone was still proud of him...his smile came back...and for today, he is still the fastest third grade boy in Kentucky....and definitely the most handsome.