The Next 21 Days – Day 8

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day everyone!

What I Learn from my Children

I’m one proud mama at the moment. Yesterday I wrote about how inspiring you all are, today I’m writing about my children and the way they motivate me.

My daughter had a school athletics day yesterday, a day late because of the weather. I promised I’d go along with my littlest guy later in the day, to watch my daughter run. So off we went at lunch time and found my newly five year old and his friends to hang out with. The other two popped up every now and again too.

After lunch as I was sitting by the playground watching Boston think he was invincible, my eldest son’s teacher walked past and said “You’ll be a proud Mum today” and handed me a piece of paper. I thought “Oh yay, my daughter made it through to zones”  which when I think about it now is a bit weird for me to think seeing as it was my sons teacher but oh well, I have my moments lol. It took a few minutes before I realised that the piece of paper was actually for my son and not my daughter. He was the one off to compete in the zones for athletics. I hear his besties also made it through so they’ll all probably get up to mischief.

A few seconds after that I heard my daughters name get called out for some races about to happen so we moved across to the field to watch them. She did great, she tells me she had a stitch by that point.

When all the races were done, a teacher stood up and called out the names of the children that had made it through to the zones for different categories. I wasn’t sure if my daughter had made it through at this stage, I knew she wanted to (she wrote it on her blog lol) but I didn’t know how it’d turn out.

Then I heard it, I heard her name and I couldn’t help but feel incredibly happy for her. She’d done what she’d set to do. In the past she has made it through to the zones every year but it had never really meant anything to her. This year it was something she really desired.

What shocked me though was not only did I hear her name name once but three times. By this stage I was wishing my husband could be there with me so I could squeeze his hand to show my happiness. It really sucks to be happy and have no one to share it with. Turns out I missed hearing her name called out one other time because out of 6 categories, she  had made it through on 4. Long jump, high jump, 60m & 100m sprints. She didn’t make discus or shotput but if you’ve ever seen my daughter, it’s hardly surprising, she’s only tiny.

If that wasn’t enough to make me burst at the seams with pride they also had their one after school activity to get through. Wednesdays are long days, my children play touch rugby during summer. My daughter only started playing a few weeks ago for the first time and has been lacking in confidence because it’s all so new to her. She signed herself up for it though and we’re all about following through on your commitments so she’s currently learning that lesson. I did feel quite bad for Vahnija though, she’d already been on her feet all day. They love their touch games though and after loading them up with afternoon tea and making them rest until the games started they were good to go.

My daughter was a beast during her game! I don’t know what clicked but she was chasing down these boys on the field like a lion would it’s prey. It was awesome. She was awarded player of the day for her efforts which I’m really proud of because she’s come so far in a few short weeks. Next was my sons game. I can’t go into it all but lately there have been big issues with his team and he’s felt like crap after all his games this term. It’s been heartbreaking and frustrating to see him upset because of the actions of adults. They should know better. I admit I let the protective mama-bear instinct in me out one week because of what was going on. Each week we’d have to talk to him about what was right, to ignore the things being done to him and how to carry on next time. I’m so happy to say that yesterday he was back to his old self. He had obviously taken on all the advice given to him and was being who he knew he could be. I was proud of him for believing in himself. It must have been noted because come the end of the match, he was also awarded player of the day.

I know my kids aren’t perfect and I know that I’m not a perfect parent but I am so proud and motivated by these little accomplishments that these tiny wee people are achieving. They have challenges of their own, they have dreams, they set their own goals, they’re living through highs and lows and people who want to put them down but they’re taking it all in their stride and showing me that the negatives won’t stop them. They’re so strong and I love that I’ve had a part to play in that.

I’m going through a stage with my journey where it’s all feeling very real. Getting back into life when you’ve been out of it for years because you’ve been focusing on other things is a difficult task. So much has changed and I have to get used to new people all over again. I’m about ready for a breakdown and it would be so easy to just quit because it’s scary to delve into my own issues but how can I quit when I see my own children facing their fears. I like to believe they’re not the way they are by pure chance. So I won’t be reduced by my fears. I’ll tackle them head on. I’ve achieved great results in the past and I can do it again. These kids are teaching me a lot. Life is changing.

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Tagged as: athletics, children, inspiring, kids, lose weight, motivation, player of the day, touch rugby, weight loss