Girl on the Run

A few years ago, my husband and I were enjoying catching up with some friends that live near Durango, Colorado. We started talking about Bereket and I wondered aloud, as I often have, if she might one day be a runner. My friend is a guidance counselor and she raved about Girls on the Run, a program designed to help girls fall in love with running while developing self esteem and learning to make good life choices. I had never heard of it before and wished it was available where we live.

Just over a year later, we got an email from Bereket's school saying that they were going to start a Girls on the Run program. I wished I could sign her up immediately, but she was only in 2nd grade and the program is for grades 3-5.

Bereket was finally old enough to take part in August of this year. She was part of a group of 20 girls and 6 coaches that ran together every Monday and Wednesday after school from August - November (with three weeks off for their fall break). When I picked her up, I often witnessed the end of each session. The girls enjoyed spirit awards and a joyful team chant of "Girls on the Run is so much fun!"

Bereket has loved every little thing about this group, from the yummy after school snacks to the service project to of course - the running. She came home from her first day with an arm filled with magic marker "warrior" stripes - one for each lap she ran that afternoon.

Bereket began setting goals for herself each practice session. Her principal ran with her one day and she was up for the challenge, keeping his pace every step of the way. That afternoon on the drive home, Bereket and I talked about where she was born and the gifted runners that come from Ethiopia. We talked about meeting Haile Gebrselassie during our Ethiopian vacation in January. He is widely considered to be the greatest distance runner in history. How blessed we were to encounter him in one of the hotels he owns.

Through Girls on the Run, Bereket has now completed two 5K runs with Jason, her adult running partner.  The first was a practice 5K outside her school on a blissful, warm September day. Jason had to work to keep up with her :)

The big Mall of America Girls on the Run 5K wrapped up the season this past Saturday. It was crazy cold that morning!!! The organizers worked hard to make the event exciting in spite of the temperature. There was loud music and fun photo booths for the 1,700 young female runners and their adult running buddies. The girls on Bereket's team wore fun capes they had designed.

Bereket's toes began to hurt from the cold shortly before her turn at the starting line. Running was painful for her and she had to stop a few times because of it. After she crossed the finish line, she buried her head in my chest in tears. She was upset about the pain, and even worse the disappointment of not running at her full potential.

We went inside the mall to warm up, and her tears stopped after the promise of  one ride at Nickelodeon Universe.  We then celebrated with a family meal at a mall restaurant.

I am so proud of my Girl on the Run. I am so thankful her school has this program. I am also grateful to the 6 women who have volunteered so much of their time as her coaches.

I am most proud that she stuck through a tough race and crossed the finish line in spite of the pain and disappointment. If she keeps that spirit in life, she will do just fine.   

How Sweet It Is

Bereket turned 8 recently. She's all about friends, phones, music videos, resisting suggestions from her parents and candy. Actually it's more like CANDY. After several cavities, it's a semi-forbidden fruit in our home, especially the sticky stuff. And boy, does our little one crave it!

One evening this spring, Bereket asked to do some homework on my laptop. When I later looked at the search history, I discovered she had abandoned the math program she was supposed to be doing and instead was googling "World's Largest Candy Store." It made me chuckle a bit.

Shortly after Bereket's internet escapade, I learned that Minnesota had a sweet spot of its own that has a huge following. Simply called "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," the Jordan based business has more than 50,000 Facebook followers. As I looked at TripAdvisor reviews, the idea of a mystery birthday trip came together in my mind. I could just picture Bereket and her 3 cousins posing near the big yellow billboard that so many others had posted images of online.

It's hard for Bereket to wait when surprises are involved. She made it all the way to the morning of the big event (May 26th) when she intercepted some secret communication about the plan. When she saw the word "candy store" in a text, she was over the moon. Jason and I gave her $10 in spending money for the trip (plus $2 I owed her from raiding her piggy bank in an emergency) and she got busy organizing the cash in her wallet and calculating what she might need for tax.

It takes a good hour and 45 minutes to get to Jordan from our home. We passed the time by playing a guessing game about the destination of our mystery trip (Bereket's cousins still didn't know where we were headed and they asked her question after question trying to figure it out). We also stopped for lunch at the Dairy Inn in Cannon Falls.

When we finally made it to the candy store, we were all amazed. It was huge and bright yellow in color. A billboard advertised 150 varieties of root beer.

We spent almost two hours exploring the aisles of sweets and treats from around the world and we still only saw a fraction of what was there. Even my husband who despises shopping had a fun time checking out the confections.

Bereket was thrilled to discover chocolate lipsticks!

Nils shows his strength.

On the way home, we ate some of our purchases and stopped for an ice cream cone. We stretched our legs at a beach and let our feet cool off in the water. At home, Bereket opened a few presents from Granny and the kids. It was a beautiful (and hot) day. I am so thankful for this sweet escape from reality to celebrate our spunky girl.