My Hero!

I just have to share my hero of the week. Casey made it to State in both discuss and shot put. Just the fact that he qualified to go was a huge accomplishment. However, two things happened that caused my respect and admiration to grow. First, in discus, they lined up all the qualifying athletes and introduced them one by one. They finished and had not introduced Case. He just shrugged his shoulders and didn't say a word. That was minor compared to what happened in the shot put competition. Casey had the opportunity to throw three times, with his highest score being 43 feet and 4 inches. As they finished the second flight (thats what they call the seperate groups of athletes that throw, they only had two flights) it became clear that Casey would be considered 8th. The excitement and emotion was so obvious in Casey's face and those around him. However, when he went to warm up, he was informed that he had only thrown a 43 ft 2 in throw. Confused, he spoke with his coaches and stoically accepted that he did not qualify. As we drove home, it kept bothering me because I was positive I had heard the scorer call out 43 4. So, I decided to look at the video that Kelly had taken. Sure enough the score board read 43 4 for Casey and 43 2 for the other athlete. Of course Casey was upset and spent about a hour and a half being very quiet. But then he sat up and said, "Ok, I'm over it!" Now if mom could only get over it. :) He inspires me. I love his spirit and energy. Although he is frustrating at times,times like these remind me of what a sweet spirit he has. I am one lucky mom! I just have to remember that when times are tough!