[Friendship Park is in Chelmsford, MA. It’s great because all the equipment is still made of wood and it doesn’t look like any other playground. It’s fun in its uniqueness.]
Andrew was old enough to run around on his own so I followed Lia around the park. She never really needed my help, unless she couldn’t reach something, so I would often chit chat with other Moms, taking my eyes off her for small amounts of time.
On more than one occasion, I’d look up and find another Mom underneath Lia as she was hanging from the monkey bars, ready to catch her.
"She’s okay, she plays here all the time, thank you, but she is really okay."
"Omgosh I just saw this little tiny girl and thought OH NO!"
[At 18 months Lia was 20 pounds]
"I know, she is really small. But this is what she does, she doesn’t want anyone to help."
Passion.
Lia turned 8 years old on February 20, 2013. One month before her birthday, she was invited to one of her good friend’s birthday party. It was a pizza and ice cream party on a Friday afternoon right after school, until 5:30.
"Tomorrow is Lindsey’s party, are you excited?"
"Wait – I’M GOING? I can go?"
"Of course, why wouldn’t you be able to go?"
"Because I have gymnastics!"
[Lia is a Level 4 gymnast on the All Star competitive gymnastics team in Chelmsford, MA. She is at the gym every Friday evening from 4:00 – 7:30]
"Oh honey, I know gymnastics is important but you’re 8 years old. You need to go to your friends’ birthday parties!"
Lia went to the birthday party and had a great time! When I picked her up, she asked me if gymnastics was over yet and how much time was left.
"There is an hour-and-a-half left. But you already told them you weren’t coming so it’s okay if you want to just go home."
"No, I want to go. When we get home, just wait in the car and I’ll run up in my room and put on my leotard."
Commitment.
I was laid off for two months during the summer of 2012. A happy side-effect of the lay-off was that I got to watch a lot of the London Summer Olympics. Of course, gymnastics was the most anticipated sport in our house and through the magic of DVR technology, we didn’t miss a single minute.
"Mom, don’t forget to record the Olympics. I wish it wasn’t on so late!"
"I know, I won’t forget. We haven’ t forgotten yet, have we?"
"But I really want to watch it as soon as I wake up tomorrow."
"I know, don’t worry. We’ll record it!"
"I want to be in the Olympics someday, Mom, just like Jordan Wieber."
Will her “someday” at the Olympics ever come? It doesn’t really matter because I’m just thrilled she is daring to dream that big. She feels like she can do anything.
[How many of us would give anything to feel that for a single day?]
She watches the Olympics and thinks: I can do that. And she feels that way all the time, about almost everything.
Ambition.
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