Quick update on the Gerardi's. This past weekend, Kim and I completed the McGuire Mud Run. Essentially, this was a 6.2 mile run with many large muddy obstacles placed in the way, much in the style of a military obstacle course (think "Stripes" or "Full Metal Jacket"). Our team name was "The Beavers" and we represented the Paris 12 with honor and distinction.
The picture shows us about to cross the finish line. We were wearing black, so the picture does not do justice to how disgustingly dirty we really were (note: the sleeves of the shirt I wore under my black t-shirt were white when I started the race). For pure entertainment, check out the pictures on the website to see some of the obstacles we had to go through.
Our 7-year old son Ben (front and center), jumped in and ran the last mile with us after cheering us on through our final muddy obstacle (the crawl through mud under the simulated barb wire).
While Kim has competed in running races in the high school as a cross country runner, this was a first for me. It took a while for it all to sink in, but it was really a great feeling to finish. I think more than anything it was the genuine excitement that Ben showed towards us when we were finishing the race. He just kept coming up to us and hugging us and telling us he loved us. Perhaps it was just the novelty of seeing your mom and dad crawl through the mud that he was so excited about. But for me it was something more. He was proud of us. It's hard to verbalize, but as the father of a young boy, you look for opportunities to be, for lack of a better word, a hero. The concept of sacrafice and grinding it out to provide for your family doesn't really sink in as "heroic" for a boy until they become a father themselves (at least, it didn't for me).
My job is massively boring to the mind of my son (hell, it's massively boring to me sometimes too). I sell financial and operational systems software to large companies. I once had to do a presentation to his class on career day. I've presented to CEO's and CFO's of Fortune 500 companies under the most intense pressure you can imagine, but I was more nerved up for this presentation than anything I've ever felt. I eventually had to bring a Power Ranger into the conversation to explain to the kids that a company sells this Power Ranger, and it costs money to make the Power Ranger, and you have to use computers to track the costs and money that you make and blah, blah, blah....Regardless, I think I lost them after I put down the Power Ranger...
The point I'm dancing around is in the act of letting myself go over the past 10 years, it kills me to think I might have put myself into a negative light in my son's eyes. That's not to say I don't include my two daughters in that equation as well, but it's different dynamic for a father and son. He's looking at my actions for examples on how to be a man.
So mark this down as one more reason I'm going to finish this marathon: I want my boy to be proud of me.
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment