“Goofy Smile Renditions”

This July morning’s moment in time could very well be misconstrued to be one experiencing a severely stubbed toe or in the middle of a head banging rock out. And on that contrary, the coach says “smile!”, so the third grader in me decides to not take the impending monofin swim so seriously. It’s easy, perhaps, to overlook or take for granted the daily happenings until they disappear- hopefully not longer than one needs to appreciate the opportunities to be active or even out and about. Having the chronic pain subside enough to the point of setting training goals sure feels like a blessing! 

Being on the tail end of my journey with cancer may still come with an occasional off day- that unruly reminder all of us fighters might occasionally have with how once upon a time, we may have felt unmade, either emotionally or physically or both, because of whatever treatment regimen we endure(d). But hopefully, the recollection of those trying times is dissolved with patience, positive outlooks, cautious optimism, and anything else that amounts to moving forward. And so, 1.5 miles later, my core Is officially the good kind of sore, and I look forward to more breakthroughs because I absolutely choose hope, peace, and love (and chlorine).

Photo Credit: Coach Sue