4H Speech Competition

Holden competed in the county-wide 4H Speech Competition Tuesday night. We knew that the competition would include all the 4th grade speech winners from all the elementary schools in the county, but we weren't anticipating such a crowd. The contest was held at the middle school nearest to us and the parking lot was packed! There were two 4th grade groups and two 5th grade groups. Holden's group had 23 students plus parents and other onlookers.

Holden was surprised to say the least. Getting up in front of 75+ people to do anything is not his thing. He is very well-spoken and poised, but he suffers from a bit of stage fright. Besides his speech was supposed to be only one minute long not even enough time to warm up. Even though he was reluctant to do it once he realized the circumstances, we convinced him to try. And he did it! In front of all those people and a table of judges, he spoke his own words about what he wants to be when he grows up.

We were very proud of him for getting to the county-wide contest. We are super proud of him for standing before all those strangers when he really did not want to. It's an experience he'll never forget and does not regret even though he did not place among the top three.

After the competition was over, Ben, Holden and I went to eat at Outback Steakhouse (Holden's choice) to celebrate. We enjoyed being together just the three of us (the original family members, as Holden said). It's been so long since we have spent one-on-one time with Holden and he relishes in one-on-one attention from anyone. His sweet personality really shines when you spend that individual time with him.

Up next for Holden is 4H Poster contest and Science Fair.