I ran my first half-marathon on Saturday. I just have one thing to say, "13 miles is a long way!" I try to avoid driving 13 miles. My daughter-in-law encouraged me to run the race with her and it was fun to have company. At times during the race I felt like I could conquer the world. At other times I felt every year I have passed on the age calendar. As I was running, I thought about how close running a race is to actual life. At times you can run with others who will encourage you along the way. There are other times when you need to go it alone (my daughter-in-law and I parted company after 6 miles). The most important factor, however, is to keep going so that you make it to the finish line.
We early childhood educators are doing just that for young children. We should be helping children become resilient and strong enough to sometimes 'go it alone.' If we teach them well, they will not only succeed during their alone times, but may help others along the way. My daughter-in-law helped me get started on Saturday so that I could stick to the task and make it to the finish line on my own.