Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Illustrate the meaning of "It's No Use Crying over Spilt Milk" (without using the actual phrase or literal exampl (02/07/08)
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TITLE: Track and Field Day | Previous Challenge Entry
By Kori Philipp
02/11/08 -
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“Here she comes, Jamie…be ready!” Jamie’s mother shouted as the second runner rounded the curve.
Jamie was a freshman and had to prove to the coach and her teammates that she deserved a position on the relay team. She worked very hard during practice, and now was her chance to really show what she could do.
“You can do it, Baby, ok, ok…wait for her to get to ya, ok…now GO, Jamie, RUN!”
As soon as the baton was handed to Jamie, she took off faster than her mother had ever seen her run before! “Go, Jamie, Go!”
The crowd erupted with cheers as they stood to their feet, clapping their hands. It had all come down to this race. The winning team would take first place in the meet.
Jamie was in the lead, ahead of the other runners by about 5 strides. But suddenly, something wasn’t right. She was distracted. Jamie kept looking down at her feet.
“Jamie, look ahead! Don’t look down, Sweetie, Go! You’re doing great! Keep going!” her mother yelled.
Just then, with the crowd on their feet and everyone watching, Jamie tripped and fell to the ground. Her knee hit the asphalt first. She rolled a few feet and stopped. Jamie knew she had to stay in her lane until the other runners passed. Then she could move off the track.
There was a deep gasp from everyone in the stands. “Is she alright? Is somebody gonna go down there and help her?” A voice yelled from the stands. “Is she hurt?” another shouted.
Jamie’s mother didn’t hear anything except for the sound of her own feet racing down to the field to reach her daughter. She probably set her own track record that day!
As she reached Jamie, now sitting in the grassy area of the field, her mother, breathing heavily asked, “Honey, are you ok?”
“I’m fine, Mom. I just feel so stupid!”
“I know you feel bad, Honey, but are you ok? Are you hurt?” her mother persisted.
“I’m fine! My knee hurts a little but that’s it. I just feel so stupid. I knew my laces were too loose before I started. Especially my left shoe, but I didn’t have time to fix it. I blew it! I blew it for the team! I feel so bad, Mom.” Jamie, now with her head lowered and her hands covering her face began to cry.
“Honey, the most important thing, is that you’re ok.” Her mother reassuringly told her. “There’s nothing you can do about it now, except maybe to learn a lesson from it and remember to check your shoe laces next time before the race.”
“Mom, I really don’t need a lecture right now, ok?”
“I understand, Honey. We don’t have to talk about it right now. But you know, Jamie, I still want you to know how very proud of you I am. You did your best today and that’s all anyone can be expected to do. Sometimes sweetheart, things…well, they just happen and you just gotta move on from there and try not to dwell on it.”
As her mother was helping her stand to her feet, the coach, with the rest of the team, walked over to Jamie.
“You ran amazingly today, Jamie! You started off very strong, and gave us quite a lead. I’m proud of you,” Coach said.
“Coach, how can you say that? I ruined the race! My shoe was loose, and then my laces got all tangled up and…”
“Jamie, you have a lot of talent. You didn’t let us down,” Coach said. “Sometimes things just happen.”
Where have I heard that before? Jamie thought to herself.
“Hey, guess what, Jamie?” Her teammates announced, “We still took second in the meet! That’s better than last year, so we’re happy about it. Is your knee gonna be ok?”
“Yah, I’ll be alright,” Jamie answered. “You guys are great! Thanks for being so nice about everything.”
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Life Lesson: Sometimes things do just happen, but it’s how we respond, that can make all the difference.
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