..of discipline, committment

By far, the more significant event today was the buying of new shoes for my nephew MBZ.

MBZ is really at the age where boys begin to pick up life skills and mores, together with forming habits and interest that will last them all through their lives. This is more than is apparent because the correct stuff picked up now will serve as anchors when life gets stormy later. Whilst Nisa and I started on our running journey relatively late (and only just), we have discovered it brings many good values – discipline, commitment, labour (ie no short cuts), but the results are quick and visible. All of this is cyclical; as we get better, the incremental improvement requires a greater measure of toil and this teaches the meaning of strive.

We got off early and arrived at the Brooks shop at the Curve 11am. I applied the same diligence to choosing a pair of running shoes to myself as for MBZ although this effort may have been lost on him. We’ll only know some 20+ years later – when MBZ squats down to check the arches of his children, making them walk (and later run) up and down to check pronation and then going to the shop to try a myriad of shoes. Not only did we stop at Brooks, we also went to Nike, just to be sure. I'm pretty glad he preferred comfort and fit, over colour. We finally settled on a pair of racing flats that MBZ liked because they were lightweight and the cushioning was just sufficient (he did not like the men’s version of neutral running shoes because he was not heavy enough to compress the cushioning). We left Brooks with MBZ the proud owner of the racing flats that Brian Sell wears (and MBZ now knows who Brian Sell is). More importantly, he was inspired to go running that evening.

We headed off to Kiara that evening; so begins his journey. In a way, my journey with him begins as well.

It never really is the cost of the shoes but this is a worthwhile endeavour to encourage (and even coerce) because the right values are priceless. My boy, Jamie, will have the same as well.