Gobbler 1k

November 24, 2011
With today being Jeff's favorite holiday, I thought we'd be in for a lazy morning anticipating the feast to come.

But Jeff had other plans.

I'd completely forgotten that our rec center holds a race on Thanksgiving morning... even after watching hundreds of kids chase a turkey through the park year after year. Jeff asked Pearl if she wanted to go chase a turkey. She as more than happy about the idea of catching one. That and I'm fairly certain she was happy to avoid getting her hair combed and her teeth brushed a little longer.

The Gobbler 1k was scheduled to start at 9:45 a.m. - emphasis on scheduled to start - so Jeff and Pearl came home for a few minutes to tell me what was going on. Cole wanted nothing to do with me and screamed, "Dad!!!!!" the second they left again. So I bundled us both up, thinking we'd be home in 20 minutes tops to get showered, dressed, and ready for the day. I should have just gotten ready for the day. The race was 30 minutes late starting! Now maybe this is common for races - I have no idea seeing as how I've never run in one before - but man, it was way too long for all those energetic kids to wait, not to mention all the impatient parents who were probably counting down the minutes they had left to finish all the Thanksgiving preparations while being stuck at the park. It was a bit ridiculous. By the time the race was ready to start, the anticipation had almost gotten the best of Pearl. They blew the whistle and hundreds of little legs started chasing after some guy dressed up in a turkey suit. I was standing in the midst of the chaos trying to get a picture of Pearl when I noticed she was screaming at the top of her lungs and bawling. I don't know if she was just startled after being surrounded by hundreds of people she didn't know or if she was upset that she couldn't see the turkey anymore. Jeff came to the rescue... grabbed her hand and said let's get that turkey! They may or may not have cut across the park to make up for lost time.

When I saw Pearl nearing the finish line I was so proud... even if she walking and looking pretty grumpy up until she heard me cheering for her. It sounds ridiculous but I almost cried I was so proud of her! Jeff and Pearl ran across the finish line hand-in-hand. She got a medal, which she proudly wore the rest of the day, and told everyone at dinner about the turkey race. Next year I think we'll all do the family 5k together. I better start getting in shape... I wouldn't want a turkey to beat me.