On Friday morning I walked into my daughter’s room to say good morning to her, just like I do every morning. She was already wide awake, reading a book on her Kindle. I sat down on the edge of her bed, kissed her good morning.
“Mommy, yesterday we ran practice laps for our jog-a-thon today. I ran around the entire field without stopping.” She said.
“That’s great, Gabby! I’m so proud of you!”
“I wanted to stop because it was hard, but I thought about you. I thought about how you run in boot camp and I told myself I’m my mommy’s girl and if SHE can do it, then I can do it!”
I didn’t expect to hear her say that, but boy, did it feel good to hear.
It was a reminder that my daughter is watching me, she’s learning from me.
I’m still far from being “thin.” But that doesn’t matter. It’s not about my weight or size. IT’s about the example that I’m setting for my daughter. She sees me grab my backpack and workout mat every day and go to boot camp. She sees the photos of me doing handstands and running and she’s taking it all in. She knows that I take time every day to do something for myself that is keeping me healthy and making me strong. I’m happy to be setting a good example to my girl.
Later that morning, I surprised her at school to cheer her on at the jog-a-thon. I watched her run her little heart out, in the heat. I encouraged her from the sidelines when she got tired.
She ran her little heart on (in her Vans
, because she haaaaaaaaaates running shoes. They are like, OMG, so ugly, MOM!) When it was all said and done, she completed a total of 14 laps. I couldn’t be prouder of that girl.
That is very cool. And a darn good reminder for all of us. It’s not the goal, but the journey, and they are watching.
“It’s not the goal, but the journey, and they are watching.”
I LOVE that, Daniel! Thank you. 🙂
Awesome – go Gabby! (You too, Y!)
She makes you proud, but I’ll bet she couldn’t be more proud of you too 🙂 This was a lovely post to read! 🙂