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I'm excited to start my journey here at the courage community. I hope you'll join me soon. I'm traveling this week, but will be back in touch next week to share some of this crazy ride with all its twists and turns.

BTW if you are traveling a straight road - in life that woudl be - let me know which one it is I still haven't found one.

I want to share a little bit about my children who are such a big part of my life. I have five daughters.

My kids inspire me to be a better person. They test my patience, they make me laugh, they make me cry, they humble me.I can always do better for them.

My daughter Anna has a special place in my heart. One that includes uneven bars, a beam, a bouncy floor and a vault. Anna is six and a half years old. She’s a competitive gymnast.

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Gymnastics is tough. It demands everything and more. Anna trains twenty hours per week. Her love of gymnastics is far older than her young age. It’s so big I wonder if her little heart can hold it all in one place. That’s why sometimes I carry that love in my heart. That’s why sometimes my heart skips a beat when she tumbles through the air.

But then I look at her face and there she is, my Anna. Smiling at her coach. She has hard calluses on her hands from all the time spent on those uneven bars. She’s so proud when she gets a rip, when she does a kip with straight arms. She doesn’t stop when it’s tough. Even if the high bar looks far from where she’s standing. And she just goes for it. Some days she sticks it. Some days she falls on her butt. But she keeps going back and striving for more.

I stand on the sidelines because I can’t make it happen for her. No one can. It’s all within her. I can bring you to the road she wishes to take but she walks this path alone. I’m here, I watch and smile and kiss her little cheek. And shed a tear when she falls and gets hurt. Sometimes I wonder if it’s too much for a small child, but she can’t seem to stop practicing no matter where we go. she's determined and strong and she's one of the loves of my life. 

How do your kids inspire you?