A big HOORAY for my Maxx

Last night we attended Maxx's track team banquet at her high school. This was her first year on the team, and she really enjoyed herself. She tried a number of different events, but in the end settled on long jump, 100 meter, and 200 meter dashes. When it was almost time to leave the house, all three of us were just dragging . . . I think if Maxx had said, "We don't really have to go . . . " Mike and I would have jumped at the chance to just stay home.

First off, she wasn't sure if she had lettered or not, and other than handing out certificates to those who did letter, we didn't know what else they would be doing.

But we went. It was supposed to start at 7:00pm. We got there around 6:50. And we sat. And sat. And sat some more. I don't know what the problem was, but the actual awards distribution didn't get started until 7:30pm. The coach spoke first and while I think he is a nice enough guy, he is not a good public speaker. So that droned on for a bit. And then letters were handed out to the varsity team members. Then they got to the JV team. The first name called off for the girls' JV team was MY BABY!

She lettered!

We were so excited for her! I think she was pretty shocked herself. Then, as the awards went on, she was also presented with a certificate for being a student athlete, meaning that she maintained a 3.0 or higher throughout the season.

So now she has two certificates, and the evening isn't even over yet!

Each of the four coaches presented an award to a student of their choice. Maxx's long jump coach got up and started talking about who he had decided to present his coach's award to, and as he talked I just *knew* it was her. I was even poking Mike, but he looked at me and shook his head. He really didn't think a first-year member of the team - and one that is only a sophomore - would get that type of award.

But she did! When he said her name, she immediately started to cry! And of course, when she started to cry, I started to cry! She went up and accepted the plaque, gave her coach a hug, and then came back to sit next to me - shaking like a leaf! She was so shocked, and so embarrassed (because she so does not like getting up in front of a crowd). It was just awesome.

But what was really cool was the reason her coach chose her to give the award to. She got it was because she always gave 100% with every event she tried, whether she was any good at it or not. And when she wasn't competing, she was helping. While other kids would go sit in the stands and hang out with their friends once their events were over, Maxx would be down helping to rake the long jump pit in between jumps, or doing whatever the coaches needed her to do. So she got the award for just being an awesome kid.

So yeah, it was awesome, and we cried. Mike was fighting the tears! I'm just so glad we didn't take the lazy way out and not go or we would have missed an incredibly special evening in our baby girl's life.