Gold Medal Parenting

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Do you ever feel like you’ve done so well at parenting that you deserve a gold medal? Or maybe a bronze? Or maybe some days, do you feel like your parenting has only earned you a participation trophy?

So, a thing happened the other day. I won a gold medal. For real. An actual gold medal. Not in parenting, but in swimming.

It’s silly, really. My oldest is a swimmer, and for the last few years, I’ve thought about joining him. I was born in Florida and took ISR lessons at just six months of age! I’ve always loved swimming. But competitive swimming? Just watching my nine-year-old at practice would make me tired!

But I decided to try it. I joined the City of McAllen TAAF swim team. Not gonna lie…I thought I might die the first day of practice – like the coaches might need to actually put their life-guarding training to use and jump in to rescue me.

I Kept Showing Up

But, as time when by, I kept showing up to practice, and I got faster. My muscles got stronger. My confidence built. I came to love it. I even convinced my Winter Texan mom and my six-year-old to join in, as well.

gold-medal-parentingTAAF puts on the Games of Texas in both the summer and the winter, and at the Winter Games of Texas 2020 in Pearland….I won a gold medal!

Do you want to know why I got that shiny gold medal? I showed up. Simple as that. I’ll tell you a secret: I was the only one competing in my age group. Had someone else showed up, I’m fairly certain I would have been the slower competitor. But, I showed up. I showed up to practice. I showed up to the meet. I showed up.

gold-medal-parenting-group

Gold Medals in Parenting

It kind of reminds me of parenting. I literally felt like I was drowning when I first became a parent. There were certainly moments when I needed a lifeguard to jump in and save me.

But, as time went by, I got stronger. I came to love it. I learned the proper techniques and my parenting muscles started to react without my having to think too hard about it. I gained confidence in myself and in my abilities to raise tiny humans.

So, to the tired mama, let me give you some encouragement. Keep showing up. When you feel like it, and when you don’t. When you feel like you’re on your way to gold, and when you can barely put one foot in front of the other. Keep showing up. And you’ll get stronger. Your mama muscles will flex and your confidence will grow. I promise.

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