You Are Awesome!

A few years ago, I ran the Des Moines marathon. It was my first marathon and I had no idea of what was to come.  I remember standing at the starting line with my friend Nancy in downtown Des Moines and being super nervous!  As the gun went off, there was a huge wave of cheers and as I ran under one of the glass skyways, I saw a small group of people jumping up and down and cheering for someone in the crowd of runners.  They were smiling from ear to ear and holding signs and just cheering. It moved me to tears to see these people so genuinely happy for whoever they were cheering on.  Do you know how incredibly difficult it is to cry and run at the same time?

This past weekend, I competed in my very first Triathlon. The Maple Grove Triathalon, to be exact. It was an amazing experience from training with my friends, to bonding with new friends before the race, right up to the finish line. It sounds weird, but I kind of miss it.

So, today when I was out for my morning run, I ended up on the running route of the Triathlon and stumbled upon some words that again, moved me to tears.

Life moves so fast and is so crazy at times that when all the dust settles and you witness human kindness in any form, it can move you to the core.  Someone out there took time to do this.  Maybe for someone that they love or maybe they didn't know anybody in the race.  Their house just happened to sit on the race route, so they grabbed some chalk and did what they must do best...act with pure kindness.   

The Carpool

When I was in the 5^th grade, I was terrified of boys.  Actually, I am pretty sure I didn’t know how to talk to boys until I was in my 20’s.   Once the 5^th grade rolled around, I thought boys were so cute that I would literally shut down if they tried to talk to me.  I remember the summer between the 4^th and the 5^th grade being a game changer.  I remember that in the 5^th grade, the boys that used to eat glue, eat their boogers or just plain pull my hair on the playground had a new glow about them.  Maybe even a swagger.  In the 5^th grade, boys went from being friends I had grown up with to a complete mystery.

So, now it is weird having 5^th and 6^th grade boys of my own.  It is odd and interesting to hear the other side of the story.  The boys’ side.  

As I drive my boys and their friends from baseball games, to golf, to basketball clinics, I hear it all.  I love these little boys, who are quickly turning into young men.  When I was first introduced to the carpool years ago, it was torture. It was all about farting and burping and punching each other.   I can honestly say that the minutes were like hours when this would happen.

The carpool is now my friend.  It is my time to hover over their conversations.  The carpool is similar to a confessional.  Eventually, everything comes out.

Within even the last few weeks, the carpools have graduated to a new level. This past week, 4 ten year old boys discussed the fact that Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history.  It was really cool listening to them.  It was sort of surreal.  These boys that I have known since they were really little are discussing world events. They also discuss the MN Twins, their favorite sports, their favorite teams, golf scores, tournament placement, wins, losses, who made what team and now…GIRLS!  Today we discussed girls.

This is what happened.  I was driving my son Calvin and his 3 friends to golf.  One of the boys said to one of the other fellas, “I heard that some girls were calling you last week”.   I asked my son “were those the same girls that were calling you?”. Calvin said yes, they were the same girls and apparently they had called 3 out of the 4 boys in the car.  No one seemed put off by this information.  I know who these girls are and I know that the boys think they are cute and I also know who likes who (just like me and my 5th grade friends used to talk).  So, I throw out there “those girls are calling all of you guys, what's up with that” just to see what happens.  That caused a little bit of discussion.  Then, my son Calvin with his buzz hair cut, flat bill baseball hat and ears that he hasn’t quite grown into yet looks at me with a huge grin and says “THEY CAN'T RESIST US!”  And, with that, they were back to discussing sports.

If I knew how boys felt about girls when I was in 5^th grade, I probably wouldn’t have been as scared of them.  It’s all the same thing, just packaged differently.