The Fastest Boy in Kindergarten

God made Andrew for a purpose. He also made him fast.

Say "hello" to the fastest boy in kindergarten, folks!



As part of the annual Hound Dog Run event, the school holds a sprint race for each grade. The fastest boy from each class competes against the fastest boys from the other classes in the same grade. Same for the girls. Andrew won a preliminary race so he got to compete for his class in the kindergarten boy sprint race last week.

He was sooooo proud to be the fastest boy from his class. He was also pretty confident in his ability to win the whole race, too, and become the fastest boy in kindergarten. Well, we've always known that Andrew was fast, but we also didn't want him to think that he was just going to win the race. So, during the week prior to the event, we all talked up the value of doing your best, running hard and finishing strong, and being happy for the winner.

"Andrew, all that matters is that you do your best," I would say in an encouraging voice.

William would then pick up the conversational ball and talk up the importance of just getting out there and giving it your all and not worrying about whether you win or lose.

David talked about the importance of running hard all the way through the finish line.

"And no matter who wins, you're already a winner because you won your class race! And that's so cool! You'll always be the fastest boy in your kindergarten class!" I would say cheerfully. "So you can be super excited for whoever wins!"

Andrew's response to our pep talks?

"I'm going to win."

Or...

"Won't it be so cool when I win the kindergarten boy sprint race?"

No lack of confidence in this one, eh? Um, the power of positive thinking? Sure, okay.

The morning of the race, Andrew made sure to put on his favorite sneakers "because I'm fast in them." And he lined up at the starting line with his gaze fixed on the finish line.

(I just asked him about that a few moments ago. "I was thinking I was going to win," he said.)

The coach blew the whistle, while my dad and I held up our iPhones to video the race (you can hear me screeching Andrew's name in the background near the end). They were off! Andrew was not in first place right off the bat...but he pumped those legs, surged past the leader and won.

He. won. Just like he said he was going to.

I couldn't believe it. I mean, I could believe it. See my earlier statement that we knew he was fast. But he won! He actually came from behind a little bit and won the race!

Afterward, he was very pleased, but totally not surprised. Hadn't he told us that he was going to win? We were the ones lecturing him about doing his best (check), finishing strong (check) and being glad for the winner (CHECK CHECK CHECK). He was just doing all those things.

The fastest boy in kindergarten and his big brother: