The Dalles Track Meet

Anthony had his first track meet of the season this past Friday in The Dalles, OR! This is typically the only one we can ever get to because it's only an hour from home. I'm crossing my fingers we will be able to get to at least one more, but if we can't, I'm glad we made it to this one. 

It sure was a shit day weather wise though! It was cold, rainy, and windy. I felt incredibly bad for all the kids there freezing, getting rained on for hours and hours. In fact, Molly, who is the track team manager, came out of the event sick. Yesterday she started with a fever, sore throat, and headache. Hopefully it doesn't last long. Parent teacher conferences and Spring break is coming up! 

We picked Timothy up from school early so he could come, and since we knew it was going to rain all day, we stopped at the store to pick up some umbrellas for ourselves and the kids and their friends. We picked up some fruit, subway, and drinks as well, so the kids had food to share with their friends too. Anthony truly has a great group of buddies. And our friend Raymond came as well! Timothy was super excited about that. He's doing his first year of college at George Fox, but always comes and visits us when he comes home, and right now he is on his own Spring break. His mom is also the track coach. 

 

Anthony's first event was the 4x1 relay. He would start. His pass off was clean. Unfortunately, the team mate after him fumbled passing the baton to the next and so his team was scratched. Oh well, shit happens, lol. 

 

 

His next event was the 400meter. Not his favorite as he prefers a shorter distance. He smashed it for the first 300 meters, keeping the lead, but that last 100 meters really got him, since he pushed too hard the first 300 meters, and so he fell behind. 

But, you don't ever have to be the top winner for us to be proud. You know what actually makes us proud? This display of kindness, sportsmanship, and connectedness. Leave it to Anthony to always be that guy. To be the one to just enjoy the people and the experience, lifting others up, and not sweat the fact that he's not #1. 

That's what I love. And that's what makes us proud. 
 

It was about 5:30 when Sam and I had to call it quits due to being cold. Anthony still had one more event left, the 4x4 relay, but that wasn't going to be until close to 7:30, and I just couldn't last that long after already being there since 1. So we gave our hugs, made sure Anthony had some food and water to recoup after that race, and we hit the road.  

We are proud of you, Anthony! 

With love,

Mama Hauck