Running.

My daughter ran her first cross-country meet the other day. She is the last kid I expected to go out for middle school cross-country (she insisted on playing goalie in lacrosse so she wouldn’t have to run), but there she goes. She didn’t win. She didn’t come in last. She participated and she had fun. She was proud of how well she ran. I was prouder.

It didn’t matter where she finished in the pack. She ran. (Biomechanically, she has a great stride. I hadn’t seen that before.) She will get better. There is some learning to be had.

Her biggest challenge is pacing. To improve, she have to actually slow down and find her rhythm. Once she does this, she’ll start moving up in the pack.

Such is life. We put in the effort and enjoy the race. When we find our rhythm, we can keep going and start picking up the pace.

Growth starts slow, but it starts with starting. We aren’t likely to win our first “race”, but the victory really is in the running.

My daughter gave me a lesson in grattitude. For that I am grateful. I can’t wait for the next race!

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!