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6 Things for Which I am Thankful, a Thanksgiving Post

Posted by on November 27, 2014 in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

thankful

  1. My family. Yes, it’s cliché, but I am grateful for my family, both those who are related to me biologically and those with whom I don’t share DNA but are family nonetheless.   You see me at my positively worst and still manage to love me. You make me want to be a better person everyday. Thank you. And to my furry four legged friends, thank you for always being so happy to see me!
  2. My gym club. While somewhat redundant as this club is part of my family, I am so lucky to work with 73 incredible people who are committed whole-heartedly to do good things for kids and make me look better than I deserve to look every single day. I am humbled that some 2,000 families trust their most precious gifts, their children, to us.
  3. My gymnastics community. Yes, I criticize and challenge us all in many a post. And that is because I know how good we are and how much better we can be. I am blessed to have a close group of friends across the country who are also mentors to me. I adore my friends at USA Gymnastics and at USAIGC, two of the organizing bodies for the sport who tirelessly work to make gymnastics the great experience it can be for kids. I am so proud to be part of a profession who is committed to use gymnastics as a tool to make kids’ lives better.
  4. This blog. It is humbling that less than a year ago I began this blog as part of a New Year’s resolution. My promise to myself was to publish twice a week, no matter what. While I cringe at how bad some of my earlier blog posts were (you don’t need to go back and look, trust me, they are bad!), I am grateful that I kept with it and found so many wonderful supporters. Over 5000 of you subscribe to this little blog and it’s been featured on Word Press’ Freshly Pressed twice and has even occupied the top spot on Word Press a couple times. It landed me a blog on the Huffington Post as well as opened the doors to other writing gigs. And while all of this has been really cool, what I am most thankful for those of you who challenge me and who write me to say something I wrote influenced or inspired you. Thank you.
  5. All my teachers, everywhere. It takes a village to raise a child, to support a parent and to develop a leader. I have been blessed more than is fair with incredible and supportive teachers. From the gym I grew up in as a child in Ohio where I learned to be a gymnast, coach, judge and how to run a mission-oriented business, to my school teachers and college professors, to the mentors that took me by the hand through opening my gym club, I am the luckiest person in the world to have been mentored by these people.
  6. My gymnasts. While coaching is no longer part of my day-to-day schedule, the pride I feel in watching my gymnasts strive to be the best they can be is overwhelming.   Seeing them grow up to go off to great universities, enter professions that were their childhood dream, begin their own families and just being people of character is the true gift of doing what I do.

Enjoy your day, and may the contentedness that comes with feeling truly grateful full your hearts on this holiday.