Today was my daughters first true cross-country race. The sun was shining, Woodland park was green, and parents were smiling. There were about 2000 people in the park for cross country run day. It was great! Coco ran 1/2 mile with about 50 other kindergarten girls. As the starter said "on your marks" -- Alexa and I yelled "Go Coco". She threw a look back that said "stop it". The starter said "set" and the beep sounded to start the race. Coco was off and for about 10 seconds she looked like she was in the lead. Then, she realized (as did I) that the person she was running with -- a younger girl named Andrea -- was lagging behind. So Coco slowed down, waited for Andrea to catch up and ran. Next thing I knew, the kindergarten girls were coming round to the finish line. I watched with my son Jude on my shoulders -- waiting for a glimpse of Coco to come round the corner. And there she was -- she came around the bend, smiling, running, and I yelled again. "Go Coco". She saw me and ran on to the finish line. It was exciting!
It may not sound like much to all of you -- but it was a big deal to Coco, to me, and to all the other parents watching their kids run.
