do the Thompson du

We celebrated Thompson's 7th birthday a day early with family and friends.  In true Thompson style, he wanted to host a birthday duathlon to commemorate the occasion.  Our young athletes came ready to participate with bikes (with and without training wheels), striders and even scooters.  The kids took three loops around our neighborhood park's mulch path-concrete sidewalk "loop" - the first running, the second biking and the final running.  We reminded our athletes that the most important parts of racing are that you try your best and have fun!  Losing one of his shoes at the start didn't slow Thompson down...he fought hard to the bike transition where he was able to put his shoe on without losing position.  No doubt about it, it was a great race for everyone!  In the end, Abby and Thompson battled it out for first and second, with Thompson taking first.  McArthur opted to forego the bike leg and instead ran all three laps and thus earned recognition as the best long distance runner.  We were also thrilled the Freemans, Mamere, Papere, Annie and Poppy were able to join in the celebration.  And though she couldn't be here, Aunt G once again generously provided the cake.

Of special note this year was that we asked both family and friends to write a note to Thompson about how he is special, what makes him a good friend, etc.  This was a surprise for Thompson, but something I thought would be meaningful to him both now and in the years to come...to be reminded of how special he is, how much he is valued, the difference he makes in others' lives, and what qualities different friends and family recognize and appreciate in him.  Much to our surprise (or maybe it shouldn't have surprised us), his response to reading the cards affected him more than we thought.  After reading a few of the letters, he got to a letter which should have been easy to read, but he was having a hard time reading it aloud to us...that's when we realized he was fighting back his "happy-sad" tears recognizing how much he is loved.

 

our du-athletes take their mark

 

and they're off!