I am writing this because I want it to exist always so that you can read it now and in the future. I want you to know how very proud we are of you and how much we admire you.
I told you on Saturday that I was proud of you. I cried. Sure, I am super proud of your time at the State Championship but more than that, I am proud of your hard work, your resilience and your dedication.
You haven't had it easy my dear child. You won't remember but you've heard the stories. Your 20 week ultrasound showed us that your right foot was a club foot. Dr. Sears told me he would fix it and not to worry.
You had your first cast on your foot just 7 days after you were born. I wanted to kill Dr. Sears on that day. I don't think I've ever felt that kind of emotional pain while you cried and I couldn't hold you. I had to let Dr. Sears do his thing.
You received a new cast every week for several weeks until you had your first surgery. After surgery, you wore these special little shoes for 18 months. We saw Dr. Sears for each check-up and then at 5 years old, you had a major surgery on your right leg to repair your achilles and to move your anterior tibialis. Wow. When Dr. Sears told me you'd walk on the cast, I am pretty sure I called him a liar. But he was right.
As a side note, he was right all along. I can never thank him enough for being your doctor then and now.
After the cast, you didn't need therapy. We were told just to let you play.
A few years ago, you said you wanted to run the Covenant Kids Run. So, we practiced a couple times a week and by the time we got to that one miler, you were actually ready for a 5K.
As you headed in to 3rd grade, you said you wanted to run Cross Country. Maybe because we love running. Maybe because Dad could coach your team. You did well last year and ended the season with a personal best.
This spring, you were diagnosed with a heart murmur. The doctor will keep an eye on it but it's not harmful right now. That news didn't phase you.
You ran track in the summer - even when you weren't having fun - and tried your best at the meets.
You showed up for every single cross country practice this summer with a good attitude. You ran when it was hot. You ran when you probably didn’t want to.
Each weekend, you ran with me and we ran slow but we were working on endurance.
Then, this fall, you put in the effort. You ran hard at each practice. On weekends, we went to the track and you practiced running fast. You fell - at two meets - and you got up and ran hard to the finish. You could have quit. You could have stepped off course and been done those nights but you didn't.
We gave you a race day plan for regionals and you followed it. And it paid off with a huge personal best. We gave you a similar plan for state and you followed it. And you had another personal best.
Your dad and I are so proud of you. You worked hard and it paid off. Your hard work shows in your school work too. We see the days that you struggle and get frustrated trying to learn new concepts but you keep going. You keep trying. You didn't like your social studies grade so you improved it.
You won't have a personal best at every race and you won't enjoy every subject in school. But you keep trying. You keep working hard. You keep bouncing back when things aren't great. You are dedicated to your sport and to doing well in school.
My hope is that you continue to do all three through school, sports and life. You are a great young man and I am not kidding when I tell you that you are good people because you are a good person.
We love you and we look forward to watching you grow up.
Mom and Dad
