No Shark Tank by Peggy Bogaard-Lapp

Life is busy. For all of us. Once you have a child, it gets crazy busy. The days when I once simply went to work, went out to lunch, came home and threw some barely nutritious dinner on the table are so far in the past! Having a child is like taking your own needs and doubling it, and then doubling it again. Understandably when they are small the need your help for nearly everything.Gradually (you hope) they learn to do things on their own – at least stick the straw in a juice bag – and it takes some of the pressure off of you. 

I’ve been running to keep up since school started three weeks ago. It went down like this: Friday, I’m lounging on the patio, enjoying a sunny afternoon of summer, and the following Monday I’m scrambling to get breakfast, gather up school supplies, find my car keys! I felt like I had been shot from a rocket, and have been flying ever since. I know you are probably feeling much the same way. Sometimes it seems like there is no end to tending to the needs of others. So when I read the story of Diana Nyad, the 64 year old woman who swam from Cuba to Florida I suddenly felt like I should stop complaining. Her first attempt was back in 1978 when she was 28, and she tried again over thirty years later in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Impressive!

Nyad swam 112 miles – without a shark cage – which is the equivalent to running out of diapers when your toddler has diarrhea, a very serious risk! She was quoted as saying “I have three messages. One is we should never ever give up. Two is you are never too old to chase your dreams. And three is it looks like a solitary sport but it takes a team.” Sums up motherhood pretty well.

Tags: buzy life, Diana Nyad, later mom, motherhood, toddlers