Harper has been in Girls on the Run this semester. It's such a great program. Our school does it for 3rd and 4th graders and it's after school two days a week. They have been training to run a 5K. But they also do a lot of character building and encouragement for the girls. Harper has LOVED it.
The 5K was this past Saturday morning on our town square. It was SUCH a fun event! Here is Harper and one of her besties.
All the local schools participated. I have no idea how many girls and their running buddies participated but it was a ton.
It was chilly but the weather was actually perfect! Hollis made signs for Harper and we held them along the way.
Will Holden was dying for a "snack" so as soon as the race started we walked over to the downtown Walmart and got a few snacks and he and Hollis sat and ate while I watched the finish line for our girl!
She finished in 40 minutes and ran the entire way. I was so proud of her. Harper is not super into sports but she has really pushed herself to run.
Her 2nd grade teacher is one of our favorite humans. She is home with her baby girl these days but she still came and coached GOTR. I have known her since she was a teenager because she grew up in our church and I adore her. She offered to be Harper's running buddy and I can't imagine anyone who could have encouraged her more. Harper was THRILLED to run with her!
I probably get emails or messages WEEKLY from moms of babies or toddlers who are newly diagnosed with hearing loss. People send them my way and they are almost always scared and sad and unsure about the future. I know EXACTLY how they feel. Because when Harper was 2 and I was told she would need hearing aids for the rest of her life, I cried my eyes out. I wondered if she would be able to do ordinary things.
And now I know she can do EXTRAORDINARY things. There is nothing she has wanted to do that she hasn't been able to. It hasn't been easy. I thought she would NEVER wear her hearing aids. She hated them as a toddler. She would hide them or throw them across the room. Her speech was terrible and we put in hours of driving to and from speech therapy.
And I love LOVE to encourage those moms that they will be amazed one day at how normal life is and how the hearing loss will be a small issue if they just advocate for their kids and refuse to let it define who they are.
