A Tutu Triathlete

If you’re a tri-mom with young kids, you’re going to have to get used to this. Credit: surlygirl

As I read through Tri-Mom: Swimming, Biking, and Running Through Motherhood, this excerpt jumped out at me as the one I wanted to run here to follow up my review of the book. Maybe it’s because as a mom of a daughter, I too want to teach her how to be strong and go for her goals. Or because she brought waaay more pink into my life. This piece from tri-mom Jennifer Garrison is worth a read for any mom! 

A Tutu Triathlete

When I was pregnant with our first child and we found out we were expecting a boy, I was not at all shocked. I had dreams of having all boys and had always felt like a mother of boys. Handling the rough-and-tumble lifestyle seemed to fit with my personality.

As a triathlete, I am definitely not a girly girl. I’m far from it. In fact, I’m more like a makeup-once-a-year and jeans-maybe-once-a-week kind of a girl. The rest of the time, I live in my yoga pants. When Noah arrived, he was a male through and through. He didn’t fuss much and fell right into the groove of my scheduled triathlete lifestyle.

Then, a few years went by and we were back in the ultrasound room, anxiously awaiting the news from the nurse. Were we going to be welcoming another boy, or, even scarier, a girl?

The nurse asked, “Well, do you have a feeling one way or another?”

I said, “Not really,” but deep down, I knew there was no way my body was going to produce anything girly.

Then, she gave me the biggest shock of my life. There was a girl inside of me! My world has never been the same. From then on, it was pink and purple all the way. Molly is not just a girl—she is a diva! She screams constantly and storms off without any real reason. She loves anything pink and frilly. Her tastes and mine are so far apart that we are already arguing about what she wears—and she’s only three years old.

She sneaks nail polish out of the cupboard and then paints her nails—pink, of course. She constantly layers herself in tutus and tights. It drives me nuts. I do not like lacy, frilly, dressy clothes on little kids. I like solid colors and gym shoes. I buy her what are, in my estimation, some pretty cute clothes, but she still wears the same pink tutu outfit with princesses on it…and I mean, all the time.

The one shining quality to come out of all of this screaming, girly-girl attitude? Her incredible athletic and determined little brain. Yep, she is intensely competitive and excels at any sport she tries.

Here’s what I’m talking about… My kids have grown up in a baby jogger. They are fairly patient when I roll it out and ask them to jump in for a ride.

Noah was never one to complain about my runs until he started getting too big for the jogger. By the time Molly was two-and-a-half or three, she was begging me to let her get out and run with me. At first I ignored her, hoping she couldn’t get herself un-strapped. Then, one time, the little Houdini wriggled out of the straps and jumped out of the jogger—a feat that was enabled by the fact that my ears were plugged because I was listening to music.

What the heck, I thought, I may as well let her run her little heart out until she wants to get back into the jogger. Well, almost two miles later, we were home. She jogged the entire distance home, never once asking to get back in the baby jogger.

I am sure that people who passed me on the trail that day thought I was some sort of abusive parent, making my kid run home. Little did they know, I would have loved for my daughter to climb back inside the baby jogger, but she insisted that she was faster than me and would beat me in a race!

I was beaming inside. Finally, something we could share—albeit not for a few years. She’s still a little too young to be running beyond the neighborhood. These things balance out the fact that she is crazy over pink—and truth be told, I love her for that. I love that she brought pink into my life. I truly feel that she has softened me up a bit. I know for a fact that she has softened her dad!

The entire time Molly was running home beside me, Noah sat patiently and quietly in the jogger, playing his video game and eating his snack. I am sure all he was thinking was, My sister is nuts.

Since the day my daughter was born, I knew that my role was going to change—that it was going to be important to teach her that moms can do anything, including run fast, swim fast, bike fast, and still be a loving mom.

Just this past year, I started to recognize signs that she understood what it meant to be a strong female. I am sure she has a long way to go before she really understands. But, I am hoping that by showing her how important it is for Mommy to take care of herself so that she can take care of others, I am helping her to grow into a strong female.

I hope that, as I constantly set and pursue my own goals, Molly will believe that you can accomplish anything that you put in front of you, and see the possibilities—not the limitations—of her own dreams. Of course, I want this for all of my kids, but girls don’t hear often enough how important it is to wholeheartedly pursue their goals, be they physical, emotional or intellectual.

I am so lucky to have a daughter, and I look forward to sharing her life’s journey and supporting her along the way.

Thanks so much to Deb Hodgett and Jennifer Garrison for sharing this slice of Tri-Mom. How do you moms try to serve as a good example to your kids? —Erin