Tell Me a Story

Nicole Kanouse and Sara Dowdy

If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today. ~ Lou Holtz

What a difference a year makes.  Mother’s Day 2012 had 25+ triBE members out in Clemont racing their hearts out.  For many it was a first race.  For others, too many to count.  For all of us it was a day to celebrate, to remember, to learn. 

Today Nicole Kanouse did her first triathlon with Sara Dowdy, the Tomoka Triathlon out at the coast.  This race was a little different in that it included a quarter mile swim in the Intercoastal Waterway, a 15 mile ride that took you over the causeway twice, followed by a 5K back and forth over the causeway again.  There was a little wind along with the causeway hills to challenge them.  I hope Nicole knows the feeling of accomplishment that completing a challenge like this deserves.  I am proud of her.  She, like many of us, conquered her demons and crossed the finish line to earn a new title.  Triathlete.

I pause today to look back on the past year.  Last year the team was strong and united, and we made so many new friends.  So many of you finished your first race and supported each other so honestly and completely.  It was exactly what we had always hoped this could be for so many women.  If you'd like to relive last year's fun, you can check out the video.

This year is not the same.  There is no common purpose, no focus to unite us all.  But when I look at you, there is so much good in your lives.  You each continue to write your own stories, to live your own adventures.  True, there have been losses and injuries, hardships and discouragement.  But there have been milestones and victories as well, and as always, life’s seemingly endless supply of “learning experiences.”  

Returning to the present, I realize that today is a very different Mother’s Day for me.  It’s hard not to be racing on this day after so many years.  I did do some riding this morning, and I feel pretty good.  And I get to race a little next weekend with a few of you, and that will be fun.  I headed out to my mom’s. It’s been a while since I spent time with her on Mother’s Day.  It’s the least I can do in exchange for a lifetime of her support and encouragement. 

 

It was easy for me to look back on this year.  The chronicle of my racing life is right here in this blog.  I hope you will pause for a few moments and reflect on your adventures.  Please realize that you have so many amazing stories to tell, and that wherever you are in your life’s journey, it is these stories that make your lives rich and wonderfully worthwhile.  

 

But after you spend a few moments reliving your past, you have to return to the present.  Today Nicole made a story, the awesome story of her first triathlon.  My story of today was time spent with my children and my parents.  I am grateful for my story today because I know that I will not be able to share Mother’s Day with my family in this way forever.  Whatever your adventure was today, I hope you made a good story.  And if you didn’t, remember we get a chance to do it again tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day.  Happy every day.

I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you, and you will work them, water them with your blood and tears and your laughter 'til they bloom, 'til you yourself burst into bloom.  ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes