Through a Mother’s Eyes
There’s a lady in the stands.
She’s the mother of one of the athletes.
Her eyes tell the story of her son’s journey.
As she smiles, her eyes have a far-away look.
She’s thinking how far he’s come from the little boy
Grumbling about getting out of bed early each morning
To make it to practice.
Then her eyes beam, when she remembers him winning his first race.
That one fueled him to keep practicing over and over again.
As he grew, he got better, faster, and won more.
The time came for the Olympics.
Her eyes showed pride warring with fear.
Was he ready for this?
He was. At fifteen in Sydney, he placed fifth in his race.
The next Olympics, in Athens, he did fantastic – winning six gold medals.
Now, her eyes come back to the present in Beijing.
They have excitement and worry mixed in them.
He’s set such a high goal of eight gold medals. Can he achieve it?
She was his #1 Fan. She just had to believe he could.
She’d been here six races before, and he’d won six golds.
Today was his toughest race – the 100m Butterfly.
The race begins. With each stroke, he stays close to the front.
As he turns at the wall, and heads for the finish, he can’t get
Ahead of Cavic. Worry clouds her vision. She feels for him.
When they touch the wall, it looks like second place.
She turns to the results board, and her eyes grow wide.
He’s won by 0.01 of a second. Her eyes register her shock and amazement.
She sits down hard. The crowd goes wild. Number seven is his.
Michael Phelps won number eight in the 4x100m Medley Relay. Of course,
His mom, Debbie, was there, cheering him on, and sharing his moment.
Her eyes told it all.
2008 © Dawn L. Huffaker
All Rights Reserved.
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