Michael Schumacher wins at Imola

By Parminio
April 20 2003

So he won...or did he? Maybe Michael wasn't even there today. I for one, don't think he was. He was...but he wasn't. A little boy won today.

A little boy won today. He's been winning for a while now. Sometimes though, especially for little boys...winning isn't enough. Sometimes, winning is a job...not a contest.
Michael Schumacher went to work today. Not because he wanted to...but because it's his job. That's why he's a 5 times world Champion. It's the job he has loved all of his life. He's good at his job...some say, the best ever. It makes a parent proud that their son or daughter can be good at something...ANYTHING...but to be the best, that's trully a blessing.
A little boy won today...the same little boy that years ago, with his father as an ally, talked his mother into letting him race a go kart. The argument was pretty long standing I'm sure. In the end, mom gave in...and although she feared for her son, she was there...in the stands...waving to her little boy, and hoping for the best.
She wasn't hoping he would win half as much as she was hoping he wouldn't get hurt. She loved her little boy more than life itself. The thought of something going wrong always played on her mind. She's a mom...they're all that way. The little boy never understood that. "I'll be ok" or "What could go wrong" or "Mom...geez...my friends are going to think I'm a wussy...quit hugging on me so in front of them."
Typical of a boy. I did it...you did it...we've all done it.
A little boy won today...a little boy that wished so much that his mom was there. A little boy that remembers a time when he would no sooner have the go-kart parked,than mom was there to give him a hug and kiss, embarrasing him in front of his friends...thanking God the whole time that nothing had gone wrong and that her little boy was OK.

Today, mom wasn't there. Today, the little boy that was, drove a race he had no business being in. He won. He won because he's a champion...5 times over. He won because he's the best at what he does. He won because he's a professional...and professionals don't quit for any reason...EVER.

A little boy won today...he won a kart race at a small makeshift track in Italy. His mom was there...with a little in sign her hands reading "GO MICHAEL GO" and her heart in her throat the whole time...praying to God that nothing went wrong...that her little boy would be OK. The little boy won today...again...and mom is SO happy that he's ok, that nothing went wrong.

Although the little boy doesn't know it...she's holding him tight, and giving him kisses...embarrassing him once again in front of his friends...as she always will.

To most, Michael Schumacher is a 5 time world champion...and argurably the greatest driver in the history of automotive racing. To mom...he's still just a little boy...and he always will be.

Godspeed Mrs. Schumacher.