"I don't want to do the 400..."

Yesterday Spencer had another track meet. Keep in mind, Washington (at least Vancouver) is having record lows for this time of year. Lowest temps in 30 years! So the day before that, it was sunny...might I even say warm? Well, just as we're pulling up to the school it starts to rain. Pour, actually. Spencer does two events, the hurdles and the 400. The hurdles are about a half hour into the meet and I swear the 400 is like 5 hours later! As we're standing there, it's just a terrential downpour, and I'm thinking about how cold I am and how my pant legs are getting wet. Then it hits me...all these kids are in shorts and tanks. AND the temp is cold! Not even warm with rain. So Spencer is soaked to the bones, hands red and hurting. We wrap him in Isaac's coat and rub him down basically for quite awhile. He starts saying he doesn't want to run the 400. Isaac has a way of very nicely and empathetically encouraging him and it always works. So of course Spencer does it and is soooo happy because he came in 5th instead of 6th and last like last week! He was thrilled!! Last week he started to cry...the kind you know they are fighting but can't hold it in any longer...and he said, "I lost. I came in last". I told him, dummy me thinking it would somehow make him feel like I can relate, "Yeah, after all my working out and eating really good I gained 4 pounds". Everyone laughed but him. At least I tried, right? Anyway, when he was coming down the last leg yesterday he looked like he was starting to cry and I just wanted to run out there and grab him and save him from feeling bad. I hate that when you want to protect your kids and make it better but you can't. Not only would I have looked like a moron, I would have humiliated him and besides, I can't fix every hurt for my kids. So on the way home, he says, "I can't believe I almost started to cry because I was sooo cold"! I had to smile to myself...he was cold, not upset at not winning! I am so happy he is enjoying track for the sport, not just for winning. He is the smallest kid on the team...skinniest and shortest, but he gives it his all and he is getting better each week. And he LOVES it.