On Father's Day, Art got an excited phone call from our 5 year old granddaughter, KC.
"I finished the race, Grandpa!" KC exclaimed loudly enough for me to hear. She then spoke to Art for half an hour telling him all about what she got in her race goodie bag and how she walked the first half and ran the 2nd part of the 1 mile Ricky Byrdsong Youth Mile Race to honor the life of the man who was gunned down in a random hate motivated shooting in 1999.
Art has run that race a couple of times too. The adult version is 5K. He wore his Ricky Byrdsong race t-shirt for the Hawaii Hapalua (Half Marathon) race in March of this year with our son, Jon.
Later KC got on Skype to show us her ribbon, her racing bib, her race goodie bag and her orange race t-shirt.
I had to laugh because it seems a lot of her motivation is knowing that Grandpa does all these races too and she wanted him to know she was doing them as well. Art coached her before the race saying to walk first and keep her energy for finishing.
Our daughter, Tiffany said she did have to remind KC to slow down at the beginning. At the end, KC was going to walk over the finish line, but Tif told her that was the time to run through it in exultation... which she did!
Now I just have to show her how to do the fists pumping the air pose for crossing the finish line.
KC says there's supposed to be another race when we get to Chicago in fall and how she wants me to do that one. Ummmm... Well, I guess I could show her how to do the finish. But I think I should be on the side lines to take photos.
"I finished the race, Grandpa!" KC exclaimed loudly enough for me to hear. She then spoke to Art for half an hour telling him all about what she got in her race goodie bag and how she walked the first half and ran the 2nd part of the 1 mile Ricky Byrdsong Youth Mile Race to honor the life of the man who was gunned down in a random hate motivated shooting in 1999.
Art has run that race a couple of times too. The adult version is 5K. He wore his Ricky Byrdsong race t-shirt for the Hawaii Hapalua (Half Marathon) race in March of this year with our son, Jon.
Later KC got on Skype to show us her ribbon, her racing bib, her race goodie bag and her orange race t-shirt.
I had to laugh because it seems a lot of her motivation is knowing that Grandpa does all these races too and she wanted him to know she was doing them as well. Art coached her before the race saying to walk first and keep her energy for finishing.
Our daughter, Tiffany said she did have to remind KC to slow down at the beginning. At the end, KC was going to walk over the finish line, but Tif told her that was the time to run through it in exultation... which she did!
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| Great Aloha Run Photo by Dave Au |
Now I just have to show her how to do the fists pumping the air pose for crossing the finish line.
KC says there's supposed to be another race when we get to Chicago in fall and how she wants me to do that one. Ummmm... Well, I guess I could show her how to do the finish. But I think I should be on the side lines to take photos.
No photo of her running? Too bad. Congratulations, KC! We are proud of you!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! She is learning to be physically active like her grandfather at a young age. I think he is a great role model in more ways than one. Thanks for sharing this, Kay. I am smiling still. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great thing for KC to do and how fun that she is so excited about it. My 9 & 11 yr old grandkids did their 1st 5K in May and they had the same kind of excitement, immediately talking about the next race they wanted to do. Art is indeed an excellent rold model for KC.
ReplyDeletego for it grandma...lol!
ReplyDeleteOne mile is very impressive for a child so young! Congrats KC!!
ReplyDeleteIt helps to have parents and grandparents set the bar for their children's achievements in life. And of course, we hope they exceed our dreams and expectations!! Great post:)
L. from W.
Nothing better than listening to an excited grandchild tell about an event.
ReplyDeleteAww, this is SO SWEET !! Good onya, KC!
ReplyDeletelike grandfather like granddaughter, so cute!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun. I wish I could run like KC. These days we are patting ourselves on the back for walking around the block. Dianne
ReplyDeleteI Just happened to stumble upon your blog while searching for "Ricky Byrdsong" photographs. Thanks for continuing to find ways to honor Ricky. He was my brother.
ReplyDeleteMarcia Byrdsong
Hello Marcia,
DeleteThank you so much for writing. I'm sure my granddaughter will be running the Ricky Birdsong race again. The race honoring your bother's memory brings always needed awareness to racial understanding and brotherhood. Thank you for your hard work.