Good Reads

Wild: A Journey From Lost to Found

For my stay in the hospital this past week, I had great ambitions. Ambitions of catching up on all the reading I don’t have time to do anymore. So I loaded up my suitcase and my iPad with books.

Books that, in the end, I just couldn’t be bothered to read. Maybe it was the drugs or the pain but, honestly, I couldn’t find the concentration to focus on a page of printed words longer than a few seconds before I’d drift off.

But then yesterday as I was beginning to turn the corner and feel a little more like myself and as the drug induced haze began to wear off, I finally decided to try to read a book.  Looking for some motivation, I picked up Wild: A Journey From Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed.  And then I couldn’t put it down.

Strayed’s account of her lone hike along the Pacific Crest Trail is a compelling story of perseverance and of conquering one’s fears.  I kept turning the pages into the night, eager to learn what adventure or character would meet her next on the trail.  All the while thinking to myself, could I do this?  Could I be this brave?

Strayed says:

The thing about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, the thing that was so profound to me that summer–and yet also, like most things, so very simple–was how few choices I had and how often I had to do the thing I least wanted to do.

And that’s true no matter where we are in life.  We don’t have to dodge rattlesnakes and bears on a solo hike through the mountains to show courage and bravery.  We’re all faced with decisions every day that require us to demonstrate our own kind of courage.  We can all be brave.

Do I see myself doing something as extremely brave as Strayed?  No.  But reading her story reinforces for me that you can get through almost anything life if you have the courage of your own convictions.

September 20, 2012
Happy 3rd Birthday
Motherhood

A Message to My Little Man on His Birthday

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build’em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

// Rudyard Kipling

September 16, 2012
Soul Searching

Pieces of Me

This morning I smell of disinfectant.
This morning I’ve scrubbed my skin so hard it’s raw and red.
This morning I am hungry, my last meal a distant memory.
This morning by body is drained and depleted.
This afternoon there will be one less piece of me.

But, this morning there is a bright blue sky.
This morning is crisp and cool and clear, a new season.
This morning I am hopeful.
This morning I am ready, ready to move forward.
This afternoon there will be one less piece of me.

September 12, 2012
Inspiration

Opening New Doorways

Do you like inspirational quotes?  I love them and sometimes they tell you exactly what you need to hear.  So I thought I’d share some inspiring quotes a little more often.  And maybe have a bit of fun making them pretty.

September 7, 2012
Motherhood

Why Sport is Good For Kids

There’s nothing like the Olympics, and now Paralympics, to motivate you to get off the sofa and get involved in sport.  Watching all the young and not so young athletes in top physical condition excel at their sport, it’s inspiring.  And the question on many people’s lips now is how do we inspire the next generation of athletes?

For me the answer is simple, it starts with parents encouraging their kids to get involved with sport.  About parents understanding the benefits that kids get from sport and finding opportunities for their kids to participate.  Maybe those sports are at school, maybe they’re at community centers and sports clubs.  But you don’t have to look any further than the Olympics to see that there are sports to fit virtually every size, shape, and skill-set imaginable.  Every kid does not have to play football, especially if they don’t like it.

I don’t consider myself a really sporty person. But I’ve played a number of sports and I’ve challenged myself to do various races and competitions. Track and field, softball, volleyball, tennis, running, cycling, american football, skiing, golf, swimming. I was never any good at any of them, but I tried.  I was part of a team.  I won.  I lost.  I fell down.  I got back up.

And that’s what I want for my son.  I want to find opportunities for him to try as many sports as possible and get involved.  Some sports he’ll like, some he won’t.  Some he’ll be good at, some he won’t. But eventually, HE’LL choose what he wants to stick with and I don’t think I should let my likes and dislikes get in his way.  I don’t particularly like playing golf but maybe he’ll try it and that will be THE thing he loves. Should I say no you can’t play golf because I don’t like it? No, that’s just me projecting my opinion onto my child who is in fact an independent human being with his own ideas. He needs to find his own passion, not be forced into pursuing mine.

Why do I think sport is so important for kids?  Every kid won’t make it to the Olympics, in fact most kids won’t.  But participating in sports at any level builds character. Right now my son takes swimming and football lessons.  And even at this early age there are things I see when I watch him and the other kids in class, things that I know translate into skills for almost any aspect of life.

  • Physical activity.  It’s no secret that childhood obesity is on the rise.  Getting them out from behind the TV, the video game, or the computer and developing an exercise habit is a good thing.
  • Discipline.  Right now, my son is learning to listen to authority figures and take and follow instructions.  In football, coach no longer lets us parents sit with our kids on the bench forcing them to pay attention to her direction.  And they do.  Later, he’ll learn that wanting to achieve in sport will mean having the discipline to practice.
  • Teamwork.  At my son’s age, he’s just learning to play with other kids.  But learning to work with others, play as part of a team, and work toward a common goal, you don’t have to be an elite athlete to use this skill on a regular basis.
  • Self-confidence.  I’ve watched my son’s swimming classmate become so self-confident that she now fearlessly leaps off the side and into the pool.  I can’t wait to see what she’ll have the confidence to do next.
  • Achievement.  When my son gets his little hand stamp at the end of football class or swims the length of the pool to reach me, I can see in his little face the sense of accomplishment.  Even now, he understands how good it feels to work hard to achieve a goal.
  • Losing.   Winning is not everything and everyone does not get a prize.  To me, even just being at the Olympics competing is an amazing achievement in my book, medal or no medal.  Learning to accept that sometimes things in life will be difficult is important.  Life is not all rainbows and unicorns.
  • Respect.  Sportsmanship means learning to lose and win with dignity.  It means showing respect for others on the field and thus in life.
  • Fun.

The UK government is investing £1bn in sports programs to solidify its Olympic legacy.  And, this is great.  But, I didn’t hear many athletes thanking the government for their success.  Instead, I heard story after story of athletes who were thankful for parents that encouraged and supported them as they pursued their dream.

Will you be inspired to get your kid involved in sport?  He’ll thank you for it later.

September 5, 2012