Our First and Our Last

The last three weeks have been full of 'firsts' and 'lasts'.  As we made our way out of Louisville, we recorded many 'lasts' -- last time to sleep in our house, last time to run with our old cross country team, last time to swim in our neighbor's pool...the list went on and on and on.  Yet, as we began our new adventure in Paducah, we were also experiencing many 'firsts', such as:  the first time to sleep in our new house; the first time to go to public school; the first time to live in a town without a Target.  Yes, while some of our 'firsts' were a bit dismal, others were extremely exciting.  Last Thursday's 'first' fell in this latter category as it was our first cross country meet!

Joshua, Sophie and Wes ran for the high school team while Jeremiah got to run for the elementary team.  Our school, Heath high school, put this meet on and I believe about six teams competed in it.  Some of the schools there included:  Graves County, Calloway County, Trigg County, Lone Oak, and Marshal County.

Jeremiah ran first in the elementary 'mile' race.  Since he has been watching his older siblings run for the past few years, I think their passion for the sport has rubbed off on him.  While other kids threw grass on each other and ate candy, he was all serious and somber.  He was in the 'zone':  



Soon they lined up.  Aren't they the cutest ever?

As they came around the first turn, I spotted Jeremiah immediately.  I was glad he was wearing bright yellow shorts.

I watched them pass me on the first loop around.  Jeremiah was upfront and looking strong, when suddenly I heard someone yelling, 'No! No!  They're going the wrong way!'  The front of the herd slowly came to a stop as everyone looked dazed and confused.  Coach Durfee saved the day though.  He began running back the way they were supposed to go and they all began following him, turning on the wheels again.  

As I watched the leaders have to backtrack and begin trying to work their way back up to reclaim their spots, I wondered if Jeremiah could recover.  Would he get upset and give up?  Or would he resolve to keep fighting?  Only time would tell.

So all of the parents waited and waited for them to emerge from the woods, to see how the race was unfolding.  Finally, they came!

Jeremiah was in fifth!

As they came around the bend and into the stretch, Jeremiah had worked his way up to second!

We were so proud of him!  Mostly, though,  for persevering through an unforeseen obstacle.    

He was all smiles regarding getting second, especially because only the first two places got medals.




Next up was the JV race.  They were running the boys and girls together for this one, so I had double scream/picture duty since both Sophie and Wes were running.

I quickly spotted Wes' blonde hair as they came around the first turn:

Then I spotted Sophie:

As they went into the woods, Wes and Sophie were in a steady second.

They held their spots pretty much the whole race.  Here they are finishing, Wes behind his teammate Donovan:

Wes' team won, Sophie's team finished second.  This was Wes and Sophie's very first time to ever compete in a JV race.  We were excited for them and their finishes!

Last, was the Varsity 5K race and Joshua's debut at this distance.

The world's best fans waited expectantly:

I heard the gunshot and then waited anxiously around the bend:

There he is on the far left.

He methodically began working his way up to the front...

...and finished in a strong third, behind his teammate Zac:

and this fellow from Graves County.

Heath Varsity won the meet!

At the dusk of day, our crew is all smiley satisfied:

...the beginning of our first Heath Cross Country season and ironically, the beginning of our last Heath Cross Country season, as Heath will merge with Lone Oak and Reidland high schools next year and become McCracken County High School.  So, whether you want to call it the 'first-last' or the 'last-first'...

It's officially begun!