Dear Tristan,
This post is specifically for you.
Dopey. One of the seven dwarfs in the movie "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs". The cute lovable guy with the big ears, purple hat, who doesn't talk. He is silly and playful. Ask anyone to name the 7 dwarves and I promise no one forgets Dopey. Some may say he is not the brightest dwarf, he was actually written to be toddler- like in personality.
Every single day I ask you to be brave when I know you are anxious. The world can be a confusing and scary place with unfamiliar people, loud sounds, bright colors and words you don't understand. I ask you....no I DEMAND that you learn to tolerate it and like it. I know it's hard, Tristan. I know it's asking a lot of a 3 year old. I know learning to talk is frustrating and hard for you. It takes more courage to utter one sound than I will truly ever know.
I compare the learning to talk to running a marathon. No one gets up and runs a marathon over night. It takes months and months of training and discipline. It takes having good days with great long runs and also horrible days when 2 miles seems too far to ask my legs to move. I am not the best runner; I don't have the ultra thin body that elite runners. I wish I did. I wish this were easy for me. Instead it take a lot of effort for me to run 26.2 miles.
I decided to run the Dopey Challenge. I ask you every single day to be brave. To try to talk, to eat new foods, and to tolerate unfamiliar places. I want to prove that I can be brave too. Running 48.6 miles in four days seems almost unachievable. I get anxious. I get scared. I worry about failing. I worry that I won't cross the finish line. I worry I will let people down. All the fears and anxiety you have about talking, I have about extreme distance running.
But I will do it for you.
I will be brave for you.
Love,
Mom
