When I joined CrossFit Jane (CFJ), an unassuming, barebones gym tucked away in a strip mall, in 2018 I didn’t have much expectations in the way of community. I have never been a joiner in that sense. I have known most of my good friends since before I could drive and my best friend says that I have the opposite of FOMO. I wanted to join a gym to get in shape. That’s it, that’s all.
However, I should have known that I didn’t stand a chance of not falling helplessly in love with a gym that initially caught my attention because of their little library. Over the past three years CFJ has become a church of sorts for me. It welcomes me, rights me and fills me up. It has also given me the type of deep, emergency-contact type of friendships that I never expected to make at this point in my life.
Yet, with all that it has provided me on a personal level, it will never compare to what it has given me as a mother. My daughter, Conley, has been tagging along to the gym since I started. She would sit on the couch and play on her iPad while I took an hour to sweat and reset. During particularly gruelling workouts, I could always count on hearing her sweet voice ringing through the air with a perfectly timed, “Go mama, go! You can do it!” And, for her, I could. I wanted to show her that with hard work and determination, I could adhere to CFJ’s motto and build a better version of myself.
Therefore, last year when Covid emerged and my little safe-haven was shut down, I became a little unmoored. (It should go without saying that I understand that not going to the gym was nothing more than a minor inconvenience during a time when so many lost so much. Furthermore, I understand that it is a great privilege to even be able to afford a gym membership). Fortunately, the coaches for CFJ didn’t allow any time for wallowing. They immediately started programming Zoom workouts that we could do at home.
And, Conley, who was missing the physical outlet of soccer and was navigating a world that had suddenly turned upside down, started joining me in these work-outs. She would get pointers and adaptations from her BFF, Coach Trenton. She put in the work. It gave her a sense of accomplishment and it was an activity for us to chat about and to bond over the shared suffering.
When the gym was allowed to open up with Covid precautions in place, the owner/head coach said that he had seen the videos of all the hard work that she had put in and asked her if she would like to officially join CFJ. Her whole body smiled. She looked at me with raised eyebrows and when I nodded, she jumped up and down and said, “Yes! I’ve been waiting for years to be allowed to join! Thank you so much, Mr. Brent…or should I say Coach Brent?”
Just like it did me, CFJ has welcomed Conley and given her a sense of belonging and security during an uncertain and unstable time of her life. I have loved watching her get physically stronger, but what fills this mama’s heart most is seeing the true, quiet confidence she is gaining by being surrounded by people who encourage her and cheer for her to succeed. It makes me smile that she isn’t spared from the good natured trash talk of a group of beautifully competitive people…and, that she gives it right back, sometimes in the form of a painting.
Last Friday, I watched as Conley completed her first CrossFit Games Open workout. It was hard. It consisted of a move that she had never done, one where she had to be upside down a good bit. However, she gritted through it.
Then when it was my turn to do it, I looked up from the floor, sweaty and exhausted, wondering how I was going to get the three more reps that I needed, and locked eyes with my girl. She gave me a double thumbs up and said, “You got this, mama!” And, just like that I did.
During a time when the world has been topsy-turvy, it was watching the holder of my heart, flip herself upside down that reminded me that sometimes all we need to do is find our community.
This article was written by a guest blogger. The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions of Bob Lacey, Sheri Lynch or the Bob & Sheri show.