THIS is the power of martial arts, folks!
Dear Eliza:
You know how
sometimes you or one of your siblings confront something that makes you quail—a
long division problem, or a dictation sentence with words you don’t know how to
spell yet, or maybe something even tougher? Like breaking a wooden board with your
foot in front of other people when it really counts? And I, your goofy mother,
put on my best Brahmin accent—which, granted, darling, isn’t terribly good—and
I say to you ...
“We choose to go to the moon! We choose to go to the moon in this
deCADE and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are
HAWD.”
And you sort of roll your eyes and think, Oh, gosh, my mom is going all President Kennedy on me again.
I wonder if you remembered that when the tears quivered in your eyes
and the butterflies raged in your stomach and there was no backing down from
the hard thing, the moment you had been dreading since before your belt test
began.
I expect you to stand up to challenges, even though (because?) you
tend to be meek, quiet, and gentle in public—because I want you to know the
strength that is already in you.
And I repeat that quote to you because I need to hear it myself.
Because I fear the hard things and long to take the comfortable, self-protecting
way out. But it’s the resistance to that way that builds the muscles we shy
girls need.
Keep on kicking,
beautiful girl. All the way to the moon!
Good Job Eliza! You rocked that purple belt!
ReplyDeleteErin
Totally!! I wasn't there but good job! Ur awesome
ReplyDeleteMaya