I dodge germs like Mohammed Ali.
A wayward sneeze from Savannah, I sweep to the left. An unexpected cough from my man, I swing to the left. I dodge and weave like a pro – particularly with the 800 humans (okay, seven – but they can be a sickly bunch) all within my own little home.
A few weeks ago I went right instead of left, and ended up with a nasty bug. It made it’s way through our whole crew. Two weeks of hacking, sniffling, weariness.
But when it was gone? Oh baby, I was golden. My immune system was unbeatable. I was like, “Sneeze on me. Go ahead.” Daring and dashing. Ain’t nothing going to stop me now.
Yesterday morning during my aqua extreme class, I was thinking about all that. Don’t judge. I have lots of deep thoughts as I sachet through the water.
We can get tougher physically when we’ve been through a sickness. I thought how we do the same thing emotionally when we’ve been through hardship. We’ve walked it. We’ve healed from it. We are stronger now. Simply by surviving and thriving through, we can face other hardships with greater confidence. Not that we are immune to pain, but we become immune to the belief that we don’t have what it takes, that we will crumble.
Having been a single mom with no money, I’m less likely to worry about finances. I’ve eaten palettes of ramen, I can do it again.
Losing my dad and my nephew within 12 days of each other, only six weeks after my husband gave a kidney to our oldest…. I felt sucker-punched. I didn’t know I had it in me to get up after hits like those. Turns out I did.
Walking a sobbing child through trauma that I simply can’t fix and watching it literally upend their world, makes me better able to navigate other deep emotions without folding like a cheap tent.
Seeing my mom battle significant depression and PTSD to come to a place of healing still gives me hope that any one of my loved ones can dig out of their pit as well. As can I.
Germs come no matter how we dodge them. So does hardship. Sometimes the hits just sweep up and over and through our worlds like a flurry of punches from a heavyweight.
But it IS good to know that while we’re not immune to the sadness, we can grow resistant to hopelessness, giving up, letting go, being done.
Because we are stronger.
If you’re reading these words. you’ve been through a thing or two yourself. You’ve dealt with a tragedy, illness, anxiety, loss, heartbreak. And look, you’re still standing. You’re breathing. You’re moving. You’re facing another day.
You didn’t give up or give in. Look at you! Guess you’re more immune to crumbling than you thought.
And I guess those hardships just made you stronger.
So, friend, who’s the heavyweight now?