As the parent of a motocross rider, I spend quite a bit of my time at the track with my heart in my throat. Sometimes, it is because my little guy has wrecked and in the two seconds in between witnessing the wreck and seeing my child moving again, the worst possible scenarios run through my head. Thankfully, my son is pretty good about jumping right back up and getting back on the bike, therefore not prolonging my agony any further than necessary. Sometimes, my heart travels to my throat when he is on the line with thirty or more other boys, all vying for the same spot on the track.
A couple of weekends ago, my son just about gave me a heart attack. In the arenacross series that we attend in the winter, my son has been trying to get a win in his class. It is a tough class and he has been racing his little heart out to no avail. On this particular night, my son got the holeshot and was running a great race. My heart was pounding in my throat the whole time while my head was urging the flagman to wave the darn white flag already! I could sense my little guy's excitement as he came around the final turn before the checkered flag waved. He was in the lead and only one more jump stood before him and that elusive victory. Something went wrong over that last jump and my son wrecked ten feet before the checkered flag. My heart went into overdrive, hitting the rev limiter, as I watched in what seemed to be slow motion. In my head I was screaming "Get up! Get back on the bike!" He must have heard me because he did manage to get up, get back on his bike, and take the checkered flag before the second place rider caught him! After my heart had worked its way back down to a gentle idle again, I went to the trailer to congratulate my son on a great win. Just the sight of him, still aglow with happiness and excitement at achieving a goal that he had set for himself, sent my heart back to my throat as I tried to choke back tears of joy.
My son didn't win an arenacross championship that day. He didn't sign a multi-million dollar contract. He simply set a goal for himself, worked hard, and persevered. Sometimes, it is the simple things in life that bring us the most joy. And move our hearts to our throats.
