Parker

Last Friday the town where I teach hosted one part of the Tour of Missouri bike race. The racers were professionals...some of whom even competed in this year's olympics. So I let Parker miss a day of school and come to work with me. Our school let out early and we headed to the race. It was very exciting and I enjoyed watching Parker admire the cool racing bikes and the decked out cars who followed them.

Then on Saturday, Parker competed in his first cross-country race.

You can see by his face how much it takes to run the mile and a half, up and down hills, with other kids trying to pass you and parents yelling from the sidelines. He came in 88th out of about 150, which made me proud. After he had cooled down with a paper cup of water and walked out his exhaustion, I asked him what he thought of his first race. He said, "You know, I thought I'd be thinking about how short the uniform shorts are...but I didn't even notice once I started running." A totally Parker answer.