One of the reasons I began looking into racing was to bring my family together. With 3 kids and significant age spans, it's hard to find something that all of them can do together.
So far, it has been great. We camp together in the motor home so unlike at home where the teen's in her room, the boy's outside, and I'm with the baby - everyone is forced to be more connected and help each other more. Don't get me wrong, there's bickering and some stress for sure, but knowing the memories we are building will last makes it all worth it. Even if all they have to talk about when I'm gone is "Remember when mom made us.....!" At least they'll have it all in common!
Our first race weekend at the track, I surely did not know what to expect. Kira was hesitant about being a 14 yr old girl in an environment that seemed predominantly filled with 5-6 year old boys. We had a few conversations about girls race too but I don't think she was really convinced.
Now Kira and Zachary are entirely different personalities. Zachary can be shy/reserved but I am always confident he will make friends with kids AND the adults. Kira is a different story and her negative attitude/teen self-esteem issues can get in the way of making friends.
After we got all settled in, there was a knock at the RV door. There stood two teen girls - one I knew to be another novice that also happened to play soccer. They asked if Kira could come hang out.
Ever since that first night we've been golden. The kids have their "track" friends that they hang with whenever we are out and I like them expanding their circle of friends beyond school and the neighborhood. For Kira it has been really good because sometimes the 8th grade drama was a bit much and when she went to the track, there was none of that school junk.
And for the record, it seems like there are a lot of older girl racers. It's actually kind of cool. Look out Danica!
The racing families as a whole are awesome. It's like no other sport because it takes so much family participation - much more than the other sports my kids participate in. There are for sure people with all kinds of varying backgrounds and personalities and because I never grew up with that sort of parental involvement, I am continually impressed with their level of commitment to their kids. If the world were full of parents that took the time to connect with their kids like these parents do, I think there'd be a lot less kids on some shaky paths. It is no secret I am trying to surround my son with good male role models. I know he has a hole, but my goal is to fill it the best I can and make sure he knows how to do "guy stuff" along the way.
The paradox of racing parents is, many of them are competitive. No, super competitive.
I have heard stories of people going crazy about judges calls during the race. Sometimes you can hear parents cheering so loudly and often (not that their kids can hear them in the helmet) that you wonder how they don't lose their voices. And they get mad at each other's kids too - "so and so shouldn't be doing that!" "that's not the right order!" "so and so broke our car - again!!" etc, etc
But on the flip side, these same parents that are highly competitive will often drop everything to help you with your kid. They'll push your kids car, fix your kids car, let you borrow tools/parts, practice with you, even sometimes give you some tips (although this isn't to say there aren't people holding out on info either!).
Between breaking stuff and just not knowing anthing, we'd definitely be dead in the water (on the track???) if it wasn't for many of "the competitions" sponsors - the parents!
For me personally, racing makes me forget. It is so busy between trying to watch the baby, getting things ready for both kids, getting them to staging, learning all about racing and tools, etc - I don't have a lot of time to think about what my daily life is like and what's going on it. I'm always exhausted when I get done and am happy for that little mental break away from my mind.
For me and my family, there really is WAY more than just the race!
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