just a number

I had to dig deep this past summer to accept that 40 was really just a number… but last weekend, somewhere between my early morning dive into the salty bay and my 14th mile around the sandy hook, I started to believe it!

I was honored to race along side my sisters, my lifelong girlfriend and hundreds of other women.  It was truly a remarkable experience!  As I approached the finish line of my first (and likely last) triathlon, in all of my glorious “forty-ness,” I saw my 7 year old daughter standing next to my 60-something year old mother, waving and cheering for me as I passed!  It was in that moment, that I realized why my mom (a single mother of four daughters) made it mandatory for each of us to know all of the words to Helen Reddy’s “I am woman.”            (Which happens to be my Karaoke song of choice!)

I am strong (strong), I am invincible (invincible), I am woman! ~~~~

I have decided to think of forty as nothing more than “halftime.” A chance to head to the locker room to re-group and rest up before I burst onto the field and take the second half by storm.  I plan to play out the rest of the game a bit more aggressively, taking a few shots at the end zone, even if it means tossing up a Hail Mary or two!

 

 

I wrote the following verse a few years back, but today seems like the perfect day to share it!  I hope that it inspires you to stand in your own spotlight~ where you belong!