Little Lewie's First 5K (and Mine, too)!

At the end of February, Lewie surprised me by asking to join "Running Club."  The goal would be to spend the next few months training to run a 5K.  Since the club didn't interfere with any of his other extracurricular activities, I thought it was perfect.  On two days each week, he'd spend an hour after school learning how to stretch, run, breathe, and walk off cramps.  On a week when Running Club was cancelled, his teacher suggested he practice on his own; this is when I started taking an interest, too.  We practiced run-walking together.

On Mother's Day weekend, our town held its annual 5K to benefit Multiple sclerosis (MS).  The kids in Running Club were encouraged to sign up as this would be their first 5K (at least for most of them) and proof that they could do it!   "Would you like us to sign up, too?" I asked Lewie, wondering if he wanted the company of Mom and Dad.

"Sure," he replied, but when my husband's tooth was giving him trouble (he had a post and crown put in), Little Lewie and I ended up doing the 5K on our own.  We arrived to the race bright and early (around 8:30 a.m.) and spent the next few hours talking to the other members of the Running Club that showed up, including Lewie's Running Club teacher, Mrs. Wright.  Some parents, like me, were participating, and others were going to enjoy the race from the sideline.

I reminded Lewie that he didn't have to stay with me as I knew that I was not prepared to run the race.  Yes, I can walk a 5K, no problem, but running is a whole other story.  In the beginning, Lewie kept up with his friends, but as the race dragged on, he found himself right by me.  (I still don't know if he did this intentionally to keep me company.)  Lewie finished in 43:40, and I finished in 43:59.

The race was exhilarating, for sure.  If I ever wanted to run competitively, I would need to train to beat the best score, which was 20:06.   I can't imagine it.  I've tried running, and it's not for me.  I like to take my time, smell the roses, and daydream.  The minute I have to divert my attention to my breath is the minute it doesn't become fun anymore.  I'd rather walk and breathe comfortably than run and feel winded.

Lewie's teacher made all her Running Club students feel special that day.  He had earned his participation medal and was given a few cool chachkies, including a Running Club bracelet and key chain.  Although we we were all given shirts for the race, Lewie chose to wear his Running Club T-shirt instead as did most kids.   He was truly proud of his accomplishment, and in Lewie fashion, he was high-fiving all the other kids from his club as he crossed the finish line.   (All the boys were so supportive of one another--I loved it!)

Lewie and his Running Club teacher, Mrs. Wright

The next day was Mother's Day, and although it rained, my mom, hubby, Little Lewie, and I still managed to go to our favorite restaurant (the Hopkins Inn) for lunch.  The rain made it impossible to eat outside on their patio or to take a walk by the lake, but we, at least, had a nice view of the lake from inside the house. As usual, the food was SPECTACULAR.  It was a wonderful weekend, all around!

So proud to be a mom of this wonderful kid!

My mom and me--so grateful to be spending another happy year together!

Swimming & Gaming - What a Mix!

Little Lewie has officially been taking swim lessons for over six years.  Year one was at the YMCA, year two was at Post University and the Colonial Tavern, year three was at the Jewish Community Center, and the last three years have been with a private swim school called Noah's Ark.

Out of all of Lewie's swim experiences, Noah's Ark has been the best.  For one, they never hold classes with more than four students at a time, and their semi-private lessons, which we did for the first two years, were reasonably priced.  Still, there was another reason why we stayed for so long and that was Lewie's swim teacher, Mr. Vinny.

Unlike Little Lewie's past swim teachers that acted more like drill sergeants, Mr. Vinny's style was gentle, patient, and playful.  He let Lewie learn at his own speed, and Lewie quickly discovered that if he had Mr. Vinny to himself, he could talk about his favorite hobby--video games.   At first, I was inclined to intervene.  Lewie, after all, was supposed to be talking about swimming at swim school, not Minecraft.  However, we soon learned that Mr. Vinny loved computers too, and in addition to his part-time job as a swim instructor, he fixed computers and belonged to a gaming team.

"See, I told you, Mommy," Lewie bluted out to me one day after swim school.  Mr. Vinny is making money doing what he loves.  I can make money by designing my own video games."

I didn't know how to respond.  For years, since I was a kid growing up in the 80's, I was taught that technology, like Atari, Nintendo, and TV, rotted your brains.  It was the reason for children's low standardized test scores, low self-esteem, and the rise in childhood obesity and diabetes.  It was touted as pretty much everything evil, and today, there are plenty of statistics to prove it.  (Heck, even South Park took a jab at gaming in Season 10, Episode 8: "Make Love-Not Warcraft.")

Still, over the years, we watched Mr. Vinny move up the proverbial ladder.  First, he no longer had to fix computers because he was making more money with his "esports career."  Next, his team won a $500,000 prize, and although we never knew how much of that money was Mr. Vinny's cut, we did know that he ordered himself a brand new, custom-made, blue Mustang, complete with racing stripes and an orange interior.  (We laughed every time we saw it parked outside the pool area--it couldn't be mistaken as anyone else's car.)

Then, three weeks ago, Little Lewie's world turned upside down.  Mr. Vinny notified us that April would be his last month as a swim instructor.  He was doing so well with esports that companies were now sponsoring him and his team. He would be moving, buying his own house, and living "the dream."  Lewie cried on that day, for  Mr. Vinny had become more than a swim instructor to him.  He was a role model, a mentor, and probably the coolest twenty-something in Little Lewie's world.  (My husband and I were crushed, too!)

Lewie made sure to exchange email addresses with him before he left, and Mr. Vinny sent him a link to his gaming organization on Twitch.  Lewie didn't have to say goodbye forever.  He could now watch Mr. Vinny compete with other gamers live in games like League of Legends, Overwatch, Vainglory, Super Smash Bros and Fortnight.  (Of course, I'll check to see what's appropriate viewing for a ten year-old.)

A few years back, I stopped fighting Lewie on his passion for computers and started nurturing it.  He now goes to computer camp for one week during the summer, and he can have computer time everyday as long as his homework comes first. (At the moment, we have found a good balance between school, Cub Scouts, running club, swimming, and technology.)

Egaming/esports is becoming so popular, it's now recognized as a varsity sport at many colleges, and one article estimates that esports will be a $2.3 billion market by 2022 (https://www.gamedesigning.org/schools/varsity-esports/).  I'm not sure if Little Lewie will be following in Mr. Vinny's footsteps, but if he does, I won't be standing in his way.