"Just 'Nike' It!"

I feel like I need to preface this by stating that I am not as eloquent a writer as others in my family. Specifically two people come to mind, my niece, Emily and my husband, Andy. Both are English majors and both pay very close attention to things like grammar and punctuation and typically don't have any run on sentences in their texts. That said, I write this blog for me right now. I am sure many want to know how the kids are doing and pictures of my children are far better to look at than words on a page but, I need to vent and I feel like I am going to need these memories to look back on when life is much simpler.....probably in heaven. 😉

My little sister, Isabella, sent me a text this week and it was regarding something silly. In fact I think it was regarding the Disney movie Moana and how she had just purchased it so I should to. I replied with, "I am going to go get it," to which she said, "Just Nike it dude!" meaning just go do it! This has been something we have said to one another since we were teenagers and it always makes us laugh. I giggled and took a step back to think about it. My family's life over the past 2 1/2 years has been nothing but "Nike-ing" it for our future. Yes, much of it has been for Andy's job but there have been other parts to it as well. Our faith, our friendships, our finances our retirement future ( I might have been the only one thinking about this but Andy knows that if I am not sitting on a beach with a good book and two virgin pińa coladas at my side when I am 60, he is in big trouble!) We simply just do the things we have to because we are adults, because we have children, because we have bills, because I want Barbie's dream house in 10 years...okay, maybe not Barbie's but you get the idea. I realized that a lot of what I have been doing/chasing has been so materialistic that I didn't stop to think about the other benefits of working hard and pushing through.

I am a swim coach (rather was one as season is over and I'm moving to D.C😊) and I preach constantly about the benefits of working hard and seeing the results of that work later. I think one of the biggest things I started to forget was my work in my faith bucket. Now, if you're reading this and you're not religious or think it's a crock, that's fine. I however find comfort in the idea of Hope, a hope that I only find in my belief of a resurrected Savior and His Father in Heaven, my Father in Heaven. Without making this the most religious post of the day, I think my faith bucket was becoming a little to "Nike-fied" and I was simply "Just Doing It" because it's what I have been doing for 20 years. Getting up, going to church, serving in various positions at church, taking meals to people who needed them, attending meetings, organizing events and the list goes on. I started to want to give up, I have been giving up. This week has brought on some unique challenges that I felt were unfair and not deserved because "I am doing the best I can, dangit!!" Why do I get two sick kids with ear infections in the middle of cleaning and packing and talking to realtors and home inspectors....blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! I get it, it seems so selfish and dumb, and it is, but it doesn't change the fact that it's hard. This situation has taken it's toll on my faith bucket. My belief system helps me know that trials come and there are learning opportunities involved in each one. A dear friend of mine changed the word trials to "Spiritual Adventures" (Thanks, Kathy!) and I suppose I could do better at looking them that way. I know I have the strength and the energy to get through the next two months but I also know that I am NOT superwoman (sorry, Andy) and I cry sometimes, I hurt somedays, my body is sore from lifting, my head hurts from thinking and my stomach hurts because most days lunch is all I have time for. None of this matters though if I am not learning from it.

Perspective has been HUGE for me lately. Thankfully I am not being torn from my home because bombs are falling around us. Thankfully I do not have to bury a loved one right now. Thankfully my husband is not serving oversees where anything can happen. Thankfully my children are healthy (for the most part...stinkin ear infections!) Thankfully I have a job and I am not guessing where the next meal will come from. All situations that I know people are going through right now and they are not giving up! I have learned that I don't have to give up either. I can smile and push through hard times and lean on those who love me and care for myself and my family. Do I fake the smile on somedays....ABSOLUTELY....but it's a smile and sometimes it tricks me to feeling a lot better than when I started that day. All of this has reminded me of a message I saw a few years ago, and it was a message that was Andy and my motto for the last two years. I simply forgot about it along the way until this week. So I'll conclude with this, yeah sometimes we do just have to "Nike" it and get it done, but we are not alone, I know we are not alone. We have a Savior, Jesus Christ who paid the ultimate price for our eternal happiness and we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and knows us by name. Believe what you want, this is my belief and knowledge. At the end of the day, "Don't you quit! You keep walking. There is help and happiness ahead."