...nO cRyBaBiEs aLLoWeD...

"Chicken pox!!!"...that's the text I got from my almost 12 year old daughter this morning. Mystery solved. We now know what the crazy rash she's had for 2 days is...

I've had chicken pox. I'm not scared of getting them, but that was NOT what I wanted to hear. My child having chicken pox is not enough to bring me to tears, but it was just another drop in the bucket...the drop that made the bucket overflow. I crumbled and called my lil sis. I sobbed and told her all the things that are bothering me. She listened and comforted me. I whined and cried for quite some time.

In my defense, I have had...and still have...some seriously upsetting things going on in my life...things that won't be resolved in a day or week or even a month...things that can take even the strongest person down. I don't cry all that often, but the past 2 weeks it seems that's what I've spent a good part of my life doing. This is something I hate to admit because it screams weakness rather than strength to me.Everything I write...all the feelings that I share...are real. They are personal. They are mine. I was embarrassed to share this because as I said before, it doesn't seem very strong or motivational. And after all, that IS the point of this blog...right? However...as I thought more about it...I realized through my tears that I'm stronger than I think I am. It takes strength to admit you need help. It takes strength to let people see your weaknesses. And it takes strength to wipe away the tears and DO something.

There's a quote that says, "If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have time to do something about it." Whether it's the disappointment of failure in the gym or a sick child or a broken relationship or an injury or the loss of a job...whether it's in or out of the gym...whether it's in your control to "fix" or not...we can always do SOMETHING about the things that weigh us down...because at the very least, we can do something about our reaction to those things.

I've always found it interesting to watch people go for their one rep max in the gym. I think the way they react says a lot about them. Some people think that a weight is too hard for them, when I can clearly see it is not hard at all. Some people give up the second the weight stops moving, while others hold on just a few more seconds and fight to get the weight up. It's not that one person is always stronger than the other. It's about not giving up when the going gets tough. It's about finding the resolve from within to push back against the things that push against you. It's about knowing that if you hold on for just another minute and take a minute to rest and breath...you WILL make through. It's also about being humble enough to ask for help when your load becomes to much to bear.

It's time to stop crying. It's time to keep pushing when I'd rather just let go. It's time to rely on the people that are right here...ready and willing to help me when it gets too heavy. I'm ready to stop being a crybaby and start doing something.

~Marsha