It’s hard to put into words all that the cross country families have meant to me. We’ve mostly seen each other for seven consecutive Mondays in the fall for five years in a row. I’d like to wax eloquent about this —it is Jack’s senior year after all. But I can’t find eloquent words; actually, all of the words are hard to find.
Last Saturday Jack had his final high school cross country race. It felt anticlimactic. It was a Saturday. It was hot. The whole team wasn’t there. The team still has one more race; but he can’t make it to that one. So it was his last race, but no one else’s. It seemed like an ordinary day and an ordinary race. Oh, we gathered for a picture and a few last words but, still, it felt quite ordinary. Not “the end.”
Now the district championship race two weeks before was exciting. Most of the team was there. Most everyone got PRs (personal records). Jack placed 15th and the team was third overall. The four seniors that have run together for five years got a picture with the coach. A picture was taken of a sweet mom moment as three of us hugged and teared up wondering when we’d see each other again. An exciting night. An unexpected highlight.
But maybe that’s the point. There are ordinary days and exciting days. There are lonely days and there are days of connection. There are eloquent words and there are ordinary words. These are the things that make up our lives. And they all count.
#mondaysbymidnight
