Little Miss Jock

Who would have thought that our jock would be our girl, and our baby girl no less. You would usually think the baby girl would be the spoiled little daddy's girl- complete with dresses and bows. Not so in our house. Our little one eats and drinks sports, and is competitive in everything she does 24/7. 2 years ago we were sent an invitation in the mail to attend an awards assembly at school for Cambria. We had never been invited to this special, invitation only event at the school before, so we were not quite sure what to expect. Cambria was thrilled. She was positive that she had earned the award for best PE student. We all dressed up, drug the whole family out, and sat through THREE + hours of awards being handed out as each teacher went on and on about their favorite student. Finally the PE awards came, and then went. Cambria sunk down in her seat and almost died when she realized that she did not receive that award. We sat there for about another 1/2 hour, with a daughter on the verge of tears, waiting for her name to be called. Finally, the big grand finale and highlight of the night came- the academic, straight A student awards. That is when her name was called. She didn't crack a smile as she made her way to the stage to accept her trophy (yes trophy, every other award was a certificate, but this one got a trophy). She never cracked a smile as she posed for a picture, or made her way back to her seat. As she came to where we were sitting she quickly handed me the trophy commanding me to "please hold this stupid thing" and then proceeded to ask if we could hurry and leave, all the while on the verge of tears. Of course we told her to sit her little rear down and be gracious and wait for the rest of the awards to be handed out. Luckily the never ending awards assembly ended minutes later, and she was out the door before we could say a word to anyone there. As we hit the car the tears came. She was so disappointed that the coaches had overlooked her and not given her the award. She could not believe that she sat nearly 4 hours to receive an academic award. We reminded her over and over that the academics are what matter, but it just went in one ear and out the other. She does take pride in her academics and making good grades, but the fact was- someone else beat her as the best PE student. Last year when she dislocated her elbow and was unable to run track and cross country she was so upset because she knew she would not be in the running for an award her 7th grade year. In fact I had to go pick her up from school for a bit so she could stop crying and get her composure back after she was told by her coach that track would be over before she was out of her cast.

But this year, 8th grade, she finally did it! She received her special invitation to the athletics awards ceremony. She dressed up. She counted down the days. She received her award with a big smile on her face. Again we sat through many awards, but then finally her name was called and she was awarded the Cross Country Outstanding Athlete Award! It is just a certificate, a simple piece of paper, but you would have thought it was gold. She has waited for this day for 3 years, and now she can say she achieved it- an athletic award from school, recognition from her teachers and coaches, respect from her classmates and teammates. Little Miss Competitive! Where did we get this kid?