Since early November, Drew's been involved in the Little Huskies wrestling program. He takes this sport very seriously, and it's been fun to watch his development as a player. He's showed the mental toughness it takes to be successful in this sport. This year, he kept practicing in spite of a bloody nose...in spite of getting a (baby) tooth knocked out...in spite of dislocating his shoulder. But all those things are exactly why, as his mother, I can hardly stand to watch him wrestle. It just about does me in to see my child contorted into a pretzle during a match. Even tho my dad wrestled back in the day, and I grew up hearing the stories about what it takes to be a successful wrestler, it wasn't until my own son took up this sport that I understood why my grandma never went to my dad's meets.
Today, however, I checked my protective mamma persona and went to Drew's meet. He was wrestling at Regionals today, and I wanted to show my support as he takes the first step toward his goal: making it to State. He did well, coming in 2nd place in the 74-lb. weight class, which is good enough for him to move on to Sectionals next week.
As soon as we arrived home, the first thing Drew asked was, "May I call Grandpa and tell him how I did?"
Drew and my dad have always had a good relationship. Since Drew's started wrestling, it's given them another thing to bond over. Earlier this month marked 50 years since my dad was the first Iowa high school state wrestling champion in the town where I grew up. Drew placing second at Regionals today is another step toward following in his grandpa's footsteps.
Before Drew wrestled his final match, I asked him if I could take a picture of him. He struck the traditional wrestling pose, and it reminded me of my dad's wrestling photo I'd seen while growing up. I've always thought Drew looks like a carbon copy of Baird, but when I compared these two pics, I see my dad's wrestling toughness in Drew's eyes.
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