Caleb's Big Day

Today you get 2 versions of the day's big activity... Doug's and mine.

Doug's version... Wow--my man Caleb "The Hulkster" was on fire today for his first ever wrestling match. He has been so excited to have his first match, and since several were cancelled, today was his BIG day. He made the most out of it by taking 1st place and going a perfect 3-0 on the day. I am very proud of Caleb. He has learned so much from his coaches since he started practicing a month ago.

Caleb was so excited that he called nana, papa, grandma, grandpa, aunt Amanda, Uncle Darryl, and his cousins Jacob and Josh on the way home to tell them the news. Kate nearly "lost her lunch" because of her nervous stomach, and as you can see in the picture she could hardly watch. I stood on the side of the mat each match and yelled and screamed. It was great and brought back memories from my high school coaching days. It sure was fun!

It was a great day! I am proud of you "Hulkster". I can't wait until next Saturday for our next match. Dad

And here is mine... Okay, I admit that back in October I suggested to Caleb he should try wrestling... I felt comfort in the fact that he would compete against others his exact size. And since the last wrestling event I had watched was at least 8 months before that, well I forgot the realities and, well, when your own "baby" is the one competing, the realities are so much worse... a practice room that smells so bad I only peek in, kids throwing each other down full force, and coaches that demand far more than I as a mom think my child can handle.

So he has been practicing for two months and LOVES it! Two times a week he comes home exhausted but thrilled! Well, today was his first tournament and Doug and I just prayed that by the end of the day, he would still want to wrestle. We told him we wanted him to try his best and that since he was new, he shouldn't be hard on himself if he didn't win. I thought I was going to get sick when I saw his number posted as the next one up.

Well... he won all three of his matches and finished 1st in his weight class!!! I never knew he could be so aggressive (I did watch... the picture is staged). He won all three by points and beamed with pride after each one. Yeah for Caleb! And yeah for his coaches, who are so encouraging and positive with him.

I was so busy packing a bag of activities to keep the others busy for the long day in the bleachers that I forgot the camera, so yeah to the mom who let us use her camera and emailed us the pictures! ~ Kate