I'm not complaining, but sometimes I wonder...

The youngster is a runner. He always has been. When he played little league, his coach used to make the kids run if they made mistakes. That lasted one practice with the youngster. He started making mistakes on purpose, just to run. Everyone else still ran for screwing up. His punishment was changed to push ups.

When he got to high school this year, I was wary about letting him play sports. His academic record up to this point hasn't been stellar, and I wanted him to get on decent footing academically before he started worrying about extra-curricular stuff. Sports are important. Grades are important-er.

So he started his Freshman year in August, and I crossed my fingers. Truth is, he's done great. Somewhere this summer, he had responsibility and initiative injections when I wasn't looking. He's a conscientious student all of a sudden, and I'm very pleased...so far. (Never let your guard down.)

So a buddy of his runs cross country. The youngster is a natural for that. He's little and fast, and can run all day long, and loves it. His buddy said they could still use some guys and asked the youngster if he wanted to run with them. Long story shorter, he's now on the team. He runs for about an hour or two after school every day. It's a good thing. He can use the exercise, and he's participating in school sports, and all's cool. He's going to get a uniform, and a green polo shirt that he can wear on Fridays that lets him stand out a little...good for the self esteem.

The only thing that bugs me is...they have a meet today, and the youngster isn't running. He says he's the fourth fastest kid on the team (or rather, usually comes in fourth when they run in practice), but he's not going. He's not going because he doesn't have a uniform yet. Because he didn't start until October, he'll be lucky to get a uniform before their last regular meet of the year, but it should be here in time for "districts". That's November 1st, and it's the last thing they do.

So, I'm not complaining. The youngster really could use the exercise and the outlet for some energy. The practices are good for him. It's just...why do you go through all that trouble, and you can't even use the kid until the last event of the season? Can't we get a uniform before the end of the month? He doesn't seem to mind, so I'm not saying anything. I don't really want to stir the pot, just because I think the system's a bit flawed. He's looking forward to getting his green polo shirt, and running at "districts". I guess I'm just being a dad, and wanting it all for my kid. I would like to see him get to participate sooner. If he's going to go running every day, there ought to be more of a payoff. Maybe I'm just looking at it wrong. For him, the running every day is probably enough of a payoff, and if he's satisfied, I need to be too.

He just started practicing a week and a half ago. Maybe by districts, he won't be fourth fastest, and shock the hell out of everybody, including me. Who knows. Then again, that's just me, doing it again. He'd be satisfied just to run, and I'll be satisfied if he does, too.

ps. He got his uniform today, and if he would have brought the rest of his running stuff to school, he could have run in the meet. At least he's good to go from now on.