The Second of the Firsts

Day 42

02 July 2009

Here is my daughter, running her first race, at her first Sports Day. It's all very exciting for her and her playgroup friends. On the way there this morning she was telling me that she was going to win the race. I spent a fair amount of time preparing her, explaining that it wasn't about the winning, it was about the taking part (try telling that to a professional athlete...), and that if she didn't win, it didn't matter, it was the fun element that was important. "No, Mummy!" she insisted, "I WILL win the race, I want to win!"

She is actually a very good runner. I have seen her run nearly a mile back home, stopping only to wait for us to catch up with her. For a tiny-legged person, she does very well! In my head this morning I wondered whether she would win, since she had the positive determination to succeed. So I encouraged her, but I didn't want to set her up for the disappointment.

When it was her turn for the race, she was at the starting line with a playgroup helper holding her hand. I was surprised by this, as I thought she would want to be free to run as fast as she could! The whistle blew, and about 10 pairs of little legs ran as fast as they could to the finish. My daughter ran towards me, with a huge grin on her face, and as she ran to my arms, exclaimed, "I won! I won the race, Mummy!" I couldn't tell her that someone else had won, she was so happy with herself! For the rest of the day, she has been proudly reminding us that she won the race. She feels that she has achieved something big; to her, today was a big deal.

What she has shown me, is that it really doesn't matter if you don't win the race, it's the taking part that counts; in life, you can't lose, because with a positive attitude, to love, laugh, and experience life to its fullest, is to win. I believe that, anyway!