1 year ago my little 8 year old boy held back tears because he wanted to win so badly. His car was didn't even win one heat of his Cub Scout pinewood derby race. He was still very proud of his car. 4 weeks ago the same little boy designs a new car (which has some shocking similarities to last years model). You know how car manufactures are, they change one little thing and call it a remodel! So the 2012 model doesn't have a spoiler, it's slightly lighter and it comes in a shiny silver color. How I wish I was 9 again. Jason was sure this car would do well enough to get a trophy. In my adult wisdom, I knew better. The car was basically the same as before, and it didn't do well. I tried to give him reasonable expectations for the races. Last year's car had a funny wheel, and probably slowed it down, but this year the pre fab wheels didn't look much better, so my hopes were not up.
So race day is here, the weights are in place and we're ready to roll. This year we combined with another pack so instead of the 10 cars last year they had 23 this year. Ugh, his chances of placing were getting slimmer and slimmer. Time for the races, Jason's car is ready, the starting block drops and his little car zooms ahead of the others! Wow, he won his first race! He raced again, 1st in his heat again! Matt started to get really excited, (since he's never won a pinewood derby either). The next heat Jason was facing some fierce competition. The race was too close to tell, in fact I thought Jason's car may have been in 2nd or 3rd on that heat. Since we are super high tech, the races were recorded. The video was taken back frame by frame, and with a Michael Phelps finish Jason's car came in 1st again! The last heat came and went with yet another top spot for our car. It took quite some time to tally all the scores up, but in the end, Jason's car was the only car that won every heat and he was the clear winner. The races were close those, 2nd & 3rd tied in points, but they had to have a race off to see who won. It was so exciting. All the boys did so well! There were some really awesome cars. I'm sure next year will be a new lesson in humility, but for now we are riding high! I guess I should just trust my 9 year old, he did get a trophy!
4 comments:
After years and years of Pinewood Derbies, we have learned that no matter how much or how little time and effort goes into the car, in the end it's all luck. Frustrating for Ben the engineer, but that was our experience. However, YAY for Jason!
Truer words have never been spoken, Julie.
So proud of you guys standing back and letting him do his own car. Have seen too many parents with good intentions take over. He is going to be a great adult!
Terri, you are a great story teller. I love how the events unfolded..."with a Michael Phelps finish" I'm glad Jason (and Matt) got to taste the flavor of winning.
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