When my daughter, Conley, was a younger version of the funny, charming, dancing, gap-toothed girl that she is today, as I tucked her into bed, she would say in her sweet voice weighed down with sleepiness, “Mom, today was a good and a fun day.”
It didn’t take much back then for her to declare the goodness and the fun-ness of a given day: seeing a rabbit on our neighborhood walk, an ice cream cone, a new book, winning at Chutes & Ladders could be all it took for her to, upon a quick post-bedtime reflection, decare the entirety of her waking hours good and fun.
However, over the last 18 months there have not been nearly enough good and fun days. My daughter, a giggly, extroverted hugger from the jump, has become a little more withdrawn and world weary as she has navigated through the loss of her normal.
While it saddened me to see some of the shine knocked off of her innocence, I have marvelled at how her empathy, resilience and tenacity has grown as she has learned to navigate the ever changing landscapes of her life.
One of the main ways that Conley channelled her frustrations of lockdown and virtual learning was CrossFit. She started doing workouts with me at home when my gym, CrossFit Jane (CFJ), was closed during the pandemic. She, like me, simply fell in love with the sport of fitness.
When CFJ opened up, the owner and head coach asked her if she wanted to become an official member. She cried tears of joy. She has spent the last year working hard and absorbing everything that she can.
And, last Saturday we were partners in the Goddess Games, an all-female CrossFit competition. It is a day that will live with me for as long as I am gifted with time on this crazy, upside down, wild, beautiful planet.
CrossFit has not only brought health, fitness, friendship, community and a new-found appreciation for what my body is capable of doing, but it has also become a shared passion between the one who brought all my broken and scattered pieces back together and me.
I was blown away by the love and support that we received from our coaches and friends from CFJ. And, I was brought to tears when some of our dearest friends, friends that we made thanks to the gym, re-routed their beach trip to surprise Conley for her first competition.
This pandemic has taken so much from all of us. Everyone is tired. However, thanks to a little box in a strip mall and a girl who’s not so little anymore, I remembered my humanity and my ability to have good ole fashioned fun all while nearly sweating into a puddle.
It was most definitely a good and a fun day.
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.
Soshally Awkward
Sosha Lewis is a writer whose work has been featured in The Washington Post, Huffington Post, MUTHA Magazine and The Charlotte Observer. She writes about her sometimes wild, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking past filled with free-lunches, a grimy sports bar, a six foot tall Albino woman who tried to save her teenage soul, felonious, drug addicted parents, an imaginary friend named Blueberry and growing up nestled in the coal-dusted mountains of West Virginia.
