Childhoodtake2!

Every Friday we unite for five minutes. Only five minutes, that's all we get, that's all we have. And then, right where we are, no edits or second-thoughts, we publish those words. This week, we write on represent.

Go.

It started last spring. I asked you to join me at the gym and you were so reluctant. You walked in and out that day crying, begging to go home.
I asked you to keep going, keep trying, keep showing up. Show up for you. Represent who you are.

And then, one day, it happened. You got it. The community swalled you up. The women started showing up for you and representing strength. The coaches started to represent what can be done in that room. And you started to step up too. You started to see the challenge. You are not obessed, but you're starting to see it's power.

And now, we challenge each other. I catch you sometimes taking a peak over at me and I represent the reality of that room. And for me, the reality is, I do not look perfect doing a single thing. I am not the strongest or most flexible. I'm not fast and I'm not impressive. But I'm trying and I'm trying hard. And I'm going to represent what a mom can do. How hard that room is but that's okay. Hard is okay. Failing is totally fine and I fail and fail again. And that's a part of it. Sometimes you fail forward. Sometimes it makes you take 13 steps back. But I want to represent what we are made of and that is trying and not giving up. Not on us. Not on our insides.

Sweet girl, you talk about being a mom one day, how much you are looking forward to it. And if you decide to move forward with motherhood, I hope you know that I tried very hard to represent motherhood and the strength/love/courage/hope/heart of a mother. I show up for all of us, but I also show up for me. Because even though I became a mom, I'm still here, inside here. Even though you are my priority, you cannot be it all for me. I do not want to not know who I am without you. So I will represent all of me and I want you to do the same.

Stop.