From the words of children

     Some days it takes a child to make you feel special and encouraged. I have been coaching GOTR (girls on the run). An after school running club that teaches girls 3rd-5th grade about relationships, self- esteem, compassion, how to get along and being active and healthy. I have a great support system at my school and amazing girls to run with. They are all so special and have unique personalities that sometimes clash in their home lives or school days but on the track, they are awesome! Today we did our practice 5k and had over 25 people come out to support or run. I was running with several people and found myself running at an even pace with one girl. This girl was a walker 12 weeks ago. She and I started talking and I started telling her how proud  I was of her for becoming a runner and having such a positive attitude all the time. She began sharing her story with me. She said "Mrs. Brown, I love running and I have so much fun coming here. I am lucky because I have so many people encouraging me. My sister is a runner and we run together once a week and she is my buddy runner for the 5k. It is hard for me with asthma but things are getting better with that because of running. My sister was born early and has not medical issues. I was born on time and I have had a rough life." She went on to tell me about her asthma issues and then she surprised me with "I had a kidney transplant when I was 3 and they are surprised I am doing so well. Probably why my parents cry every time I cross the finish line."  


        I was having a little pity party week and feeling bad about my image and a few other things in my life. This morning a dear friend of mine and I chatted about it this morning. She encouraged me enough to make it through my day and stay on track with my no sugar goal. But tonight, I got the best encouragement from this little girl. She ran her whole 5k counting her blessings, thanking me for running with her, cheering on others and smiling. She truly is a great girl and I learned that just because my stomach isn't flat, it is nothing. People have bigger problems in life and I needed to be reminded that it is how I feel inside and not how I look. Thanks to this girl and my friend for showing me that today. It was incredible seeing the support of co-workers, community and family come out today for just the practice. Every girl had a smile on and they even chose to get up and run the last lap with the last girl coming in. Talk about support system and team work.


      Who encourages you? What helps you when you are having one of those days (or in my case...weeks)?