A running (no pun
intended) joke in my family, my cousin’s young son once asked me, “How did your
legs get so big?”
While some ladies
may take this as an insult, I found sweet Kaleb’s innocent question to be a
compliment. How did my legs get to be so
big, little guy? I’ll tell you.
My legs have
gotten to be so big from playing roughly 7,000 hours of soccer, 4,000 hours of
basketball, and 3,000 hours of softball over the past 27 years. Running four
half marathons and one full marathon over a total of 680 minutes hasn’t hurt
either. My body is strong so that I can
hold Plank, Tree, and Chair poses as long as I’d like. I can throw a good upper cut at my boxing
coach, Matt Morin, can propel my body (somewhat) swiftly through a lake or
pool, and can bike uphill faster than 200-pound men, too. Yesterday, my strong
body helped me complete my first sprint triathlon. And might I add that my
trusty body has been doing all of this with my new ACL, which I acquired in
2006. Nice job on my surgery, Dr. Fenton!
Woodnote Photography
At work, my strong
body helps me serve as a physical therapist for hundreds of infants, toddlers,
children, and teenagers annually. I hop, skip, climb stairs, lift, balance, and
run continuously for several hours every day, and I get paid to do so. Fun, right?!
At home, I mow my grass, take my dog for walks, bear-hug my husband, and
carry loads of clean laundry up and down the stairs with my big, strong body. And yes, I AM all about that bass (shout out
to my girl, Meghan Trainor!)
I am so strong
that I swept my husband off his feet when I first met him at a pick-up soccer
game, at which, I was one of two women playing in a sea of twenty grown men.
(Yeah, Elizabeth Crane!) I proceeded to
lift my husband up on our wedding day, and when we just moved into our new
home, I thought it’d be better if I carried HIM through the doorway, rather
than have him carry me through. (No
offense, Kurt… I love you like crazy, and I think YOU are so strong, too!)
My legs aren’t my
only big feature, sweet Kaleb. If you’re wondering, I have a pretty big heart
and a pretty big brain, too. My strong
heart allows me to comfort parents who have lost their children, to encourage
young kiddos who are struggling with cancer and other illnesses, and to build
up my husband, parents, and sisters when they’ve had hard days. My strong brain
has helped me through twenty years of somewhat strenuous academics, and it
helped me earn a doctorate at the age of 23. I am strong enough to know when I
need help, and when I need to slow myself down.
One day, I pray
that my strong body allows me to bring new lives into this beautiful
world. I pray that I can provide
sustenance to my babies, and I pray that I will have the strength to carry on
day after day while my infant and toddlers transform me into one tired
mama. I will use my strength to lift my
babies off the changing table, to throw my kids into the pool, and to finally
send them off to college, where they will be able to further grow and develop
into strong individuals, too.
So, you wonder, am
I as strong as a man? No, I am as strong as a woman, and that is pretty damn strong.
Thank you, Mom and
Dad, for helping me grow into a strong, confident woman. Girls, young and old, celebrate your
beautiful bodies, and be PROUD of who you are!
God bless you,
Serena. Thank you for being
#strongasawoman.
