We are thrilled to have Meredith of Swim Bike Mom with us! Love it, favorite and share!
Like it or not, things change. People change. Places change. Lives are altered in split seconds, by bad decisions, by non-decisions… by simple little twists of timing. Before my first half-Ironman, I went to see my parents …and their home for the first time since their house fire.
On the outside, the part of the house untouched by the fire looked the same. But the exterior burned portions were horrible. Still, because the scorched material was on the outside, maybe the destruction was surmountable, quarantined to the exterior. But once the door to the house was opened, an entire foreign mess opened up. The inside of the house was broken and bare, having been gutted, stripped and pieces of a family history removed. The house that my mom and dad “built” over the past two decades, had been reduced to wood, beams and a few scraps of random piles.
Of course, the fire was a huge (unwelcomed) change. But in the mess of it all, rebuilding plans began to reveal a new, beautiful house – a future glimpse of the beauty that would eventually be. The months during the rebuild were difficult for my parents. But six months after seemingly complete devastation, my parents moved into a gorgeous “new” home, completely renovated, utterly healed.
Change is inevitable. Slow or fast, welcomed or not. Purposeful, or blindsided. The how and the where of change does not matter. Somehow change will seek us out, point its finger and shout, “Your turn.”
Part of my experience during my journey to my first 70.3 was embracing all changes, good and bad, and learning to make these changes something beautiful. To remember that the “house” I was building might break and change, but the structure was sound, and the work would result in something beautiful.
Now, during my broken foot, I am learning to appreciate the body I have, broken foot and all. To treat my diet a little kinder, to go a little easier on myself. To embrace the change with a grace and sense of purpose that will serve my next triathlon adventure well – and make me stronger in the long run.
Just Keep Moving Forward.
Follow Meredith on her journey at Facebook and on Twitter at @SwimBikeMom.
