It was a week of endings.
On Monday, Brenna had her final choir concert for the year.
She was in both concert and show choirs. She sings mostly alto and loves it!
The final concert was all pop songs. We all enjoyed it - but Mataya LOVED it! She danced up a storm while the kids sang!
On Tuesday, Brenna had her final track meet.
Track meets with little people are busy occasions. We have learned to cheer from "the hill" at the Bowl rather than from the stands. This way Mataya and Wyatt can wiggle happily while we watch.
This was Brenna's first official track season. She decided to run hurdles. She improved each week. At this, her final meet, she placed for the first time. Watching her work hard and improve was very exciting!
Also on Tuesday night, Sierra had her final choir concert.
Mataya was not overly cooperative at this event, so I did not get any pictures. However, I do have pictures of the awards Sierra received.
Sierra is a very talented musician and vocalist - but she does not plan to be a part of the high school choir in the future. There are many medical related courses and advanced sciences that she thinks would be wiser to fill up her class schedule. I understand, and support her decision, while also encouraging her to continue using her musical gifts in some manner. She is teaching herself to play the guitar. Some of my favorite evenings are when she sits in the loft playing and singing, especially on those nights when Brenna joins in her and they harmonize together.
(In the midst of all the crazy, Mataya officially ended her days in diapers. She is potty trained!)
On Thursday, Brenna performed in her final band concert for the year.
Brenna plays the flute beautifully. She is first chair in her band and enjoys every minute spent playing.
On Friday, we made our final road trip to watch Jamison run as a Patriot.
He has had a rough season. He has stress reactions in both of his legs (shin area). He took the time off that the doctor suggested, while working hard in the pool and on a bike to keep in shape. When he began racing, over half of the season was behind him. He was in good shape - but swimming and running are not the same. And then after about 10 days on his legs, he could tell that they were not healed. The pain was back. BUT - it's his senior year. There is not a next year this time. So, when he old us he wanted to race, hurt or not hurt, we told him to go for it.
On a side note here, that "go for it" was hard on me. Everything in me wanted to protect him from pain and further injury. I am not an athlete, and I do not think like an athlete. I totally respected his decision to give it his best shot. I completely admire his perseverance. I am in awe of his grit. He never once complained, he just pushed through. He was certainly sad and disappointed - but he chose to make the best of each race, each practice, each moment with his team, rather than whining and feeling sorry for himself. He is a man I admire. BUT - watching him race, knowing he was giving 100% of his heart while his body could only give about 60% (or something like that) was both awe-inspiring and heart breaking. His final races as Patriot would have been emotional for me no matter what, but this injury bound season made it that much harder. I just wanted him to be able to RUN.
I explained my sadness to a friend and she responded, "I understand the bittersweet. I also understand the difficulty in watching your children fight through pain, be it physical or emotional. The blessing in that he IS fighting. May his perseverance serve him well in years to come when the hard of life comes again. He will have already experienced and know that he can fight through it."
So with her wisdom raining peace onto my heart, I settled in to watch him race.
His first event was the 4X800 relay.
He ran the opening leg.
He ran a very respectable time of 2.05 and put the team in a position to qualify for the state meet.
Three other runners later, the team won the race, and WITH a state qualifying time.
The school has one other relay team qualified for the state meet. They can only send one team, so Jamison may or may not run at state - BUT he did qualify! Though many of his goals for this season are left for him to chase after in college, God enabled this one to be met.
I praise Him for his faithfulness.
Our little ball of energy is settled in to color for a few minutes in the photo above. She also ran races with bigger kids, climbed up and down the bleachers, ate a ton of popcorn, and went potty about 20 times during this event. She was all smiles through it all, charming everyone around us. And although she was having a blast playing with some "buddies" she had discovered, she paused from her play to watch Jamison run his final event. She stood by my side as I took pictures yelling, "Go Go Jay-man! Go! WHOOO"
The only other event Jamison ran yesterday was the open 800.
It was not the race of his dreams. BUT - he raced.
When he came up into he stands after the race, he said, "that was rough." And I told him, "I am so proud of you Jamison."
And I am.
The verse he chose as a middle school runner is Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
Throughout all the years I have watched him run, those words have been tested. Through Christ's strength, he has run some great races and set many personal records. Through Christ's strength, he has been a team leader and a good friend. Through Christ's strength, he has overcome some mental battles. Through Christ's strength, he has raced on wounded legs.
He has learned and grown so much in the years.
Through Christ's strength.
May He be glorified as my son continues his quest in running and in life.
And may my son always remember that it is by Christ's strength that he can do all things.
