A Running Mom

Photo Credit: tomywang

Did you make a resolution for 2011? Have you already broken it? Or are you inspired by your own resolutions and change of heart in this new year?

So many of us invest too much time in the resolution instead of investing in the effort to really change a habit or an attitude or even a relationship.

Why don’t you join me, peeps, and let’s resolve to be happy in 2011. Let’s wag more and bark less. Let’s not worry. Let’s be happy.

Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?

Be happy. That’s my resolution for 2011.

For me, this will mean 5 things:
1. Spending more time with those who make me happy, like my family and good friends
2. Doing more of the things that make me happy, like running, laughing and enjoying lunch
3. Communicating to others day-to-day amazing things, like the incredible growth and positive impact on tween girls around the world of iTwixie.com or the delight in working out with my tween girl twice a week
4. Meeting new people who are doing amazing work, like the members of the remarkable Girls Coalition
5. Taking care of my family, like making sure we all get check-ups, eat well and do something physically challenging every day

These five things will help me to be happy in 2011. How about you? Will you join me and be happy in 2011?

Off to get today’s run in. What are you going to do today to make YOU happy?

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

Photo Credit: Marília Almeida

Has your tween girl been asked on a date yet? Is she going out with someone? Does she have a boyfriend? Are you getting uncomfortable with these questions?

So my new teen came home from school on Friday all happy, bubbly and excited to tell me all about her day. She even wanted to walk with me to get her younger siblings off the bus, to tell me all about it. This was a first. I knew something was unusual.

But what she told me about took me by surprise. There was this boy who wanted to ask her out. I tried to seem all happy and giggly, just like her. So exciting!

Or not. What the heck! She’s in 8th grade, I kept thinking.

But then again, when I was her age, everyone I knew was “going with” someone. And I did too. Was I allowed? No. Did I tell my parents? Heck no! So, I started to realize that this was a special opportunity to chat with my daughter something I’d never have discussed with my parents.

So I became enthralled.

We talked about the boy, all the chatter going on at school about whether or not he was going to ask her out, and then my daughter looked at me and asked, “Well, what should I do?”

You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach after you’ve worked out a little too hard… or eaten too many chocolate bars… or turned around in the car to chat with someone behind you in a car that’s going around crazy bends and hills? That’s how I felt; just for a second.

And then I thought of something: I needed to get her to tell me what she ought to do. Not the other way around. She had to think this through on her own.

So I asked her what she thought she ought to do.

She was full of all kinds of conflicting feelings. It was exciting to know she was going to be asked out. She loved how it felt to know someone “liked” her. He was a nice boy and she was friends with him. Her friends said they looked cute together.

But, lately, it was a little creepy. He wasn’t himself. He was acting really odd. He stared at her. Listened intently to her every word. He talked about her to everyone. She felt al little, well, ew.

“Well, you know, that part will probably get a little worse,” I said.

She turned pale. She knew it was true. If this is how he was acting, just considering asking her out, can you imagine how he was going to behave when they were really going out?

I gave her some of the ground rules off the top of my head, making them up as I went, and I told her there would be more rules, too. But that it was her decision.

I just wasn’t ready for this!

“Mom, you’re taking all the fun out of this!” she said.

I hugged my new teen. I knew I wasn’t saying the stuff that she wanted me to say. But I was helping her to make a case for what she wanted to do. She wanted a good reason to say no. And I wasn’t saying that she wasn’t allowed to say yes.

I think I surprised her!

“Listen, I am so glad you told me about this boy. And I am excited for you. It feels great to know someone thinks you pretty cool. I get it. But I do wish you would say no when he asks you out. I don’t want you to have all kinds of goofiness or lose a friend over this kind of dating thing, it’s just too weird. But I can tell you’re excited. So if you say yes, I just want you to know that I’m going to want to make sure you are happy and safe. Ok?”

“Ok,” she said, “I just wanted to know what you would say if I said yes. And now I know. So that’s all I needed to know. I feel better.”

Whew. 3 days passed.

Today she came home from school all full of bubbles and giggles and stories from the day. Uh-oh, I thought. Then she told me that he asked her out and she said, “No thanks.”

We both smiled and started laughing.

“No thanks?” I asked.

“Yep, that’s what I said. I just told him that I felt funny and that I liked him, but, well, no thanks, and he said that it was ok,” she said.

Sometimes just knowing that someone thinks you’re special is pretty special on its own. And it made her day.

And sometimes letting go is the hardest thing ever, but when it works out, it just makes your day. This little moment certainly made mine.

Oh, and I will be running this event off my mind tomorrow morning, first thing! I’m going 6 miles. How about you?

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

Photo Credit: http://iTwixie.com

This year has brought many incredible people into my life! This girl is a great example these kinds of people, and what they mean to me, my business and what the greater message should be to us all.

I met this girl at the Pittsburgh Kids Marathon One Mile Fun Run this year. iTwixie.com was a sponsor, so a team of us attended the event and offered all kids the chance to make friendship bracelets, compete for iTwixie t-shirts and Maddie Georgi cds (Maddie Georgi is the singer/songwriter of iTwixie’s theme song, “Go!”). After the kids finished the race, many stopped by to see what was going on at our booth.

This girl stopped by, hoola-hooped to win an iTwixie t-shirt, smiled for a few pictures and asked about iTwixie. I told her how iTwixie.com was the only site on the web that really is all about real tween girls like her, who are smart, savvy, athletic and curious about all kinds of stuff.

She and I had a great chat, because it turns out, she just started running last year and quickly learned that she was pretty fast. In fact, she kept running and now is one of the top ten fastest runners in her age group in the USA.

Pretty incredible, yes?

Isn’t she beautiful?

We’re celebrating our 1st birthday right now on iTwixie. We’ve met girls like this incredible runner all year long, who continue to amaze us with their incredible strength, positive attitude and real interest in reaching out to other girls like them. Companies around the globe are trying to teach these beautiful girls that they need make-up, sexy clothing and boys to know that they are beautiful.

At  iTwixie.com, we recognize the true beauty in each and every tween girl right now!  Whether she climbs trees, plays a sport, loves science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), literature, fashion, design, singing, acting, dressing up or dressing down, she is beautiful! Won’t you applaud your tween girl for being the real girl that she is today? Tell her she is smart, savvy, funny, cool, kooky, crazy, fun or courageous! And tell her all of those things make her beautiful!

Let’s stop pushing our girls away from embracing these incredible tween years! Let’s STOP encouraging them to wear make-up, pluck their eyebrows, wear skimpy clothing, worry about boys or what they look like! Let’s stop criticizing their “shape” at a time when their bodies are changing more rapidly than any other time in their lives! Let’s embrace them as the morphing beings they are! Won’t you simply embrace her as she is?

Let’s celebrate our tween girls and spark a revolution in this world to join us and cheer them on! Won’t you and your family join the iTwixie.com revolution?

One of the families that stopped by to talk to us at the Pittsburgh Kids Marathon One Mile Fun Run, shared their fun routine of running 1 mile, 3 times a week, together as a family. How fun! The kids were 5, 7 and 9. These kids, 2 girls and a little boy, looked at me, proud, steadfast as true champions, with medals hanging from their necks, a goody bag full of fun stuff, and an iTwixie t-shirt in their hands from winning one of the iTwixie challenges. Priceless, right? Better than taking them to a movie perhaps? Certainly better than hanging out at the mall all day or hitting a fast food joint, wouldn’t you agree?

It was a wonderful day!

The Pittsburgh Kids Marathon One Mile Fun Run is like many races throughout the world that bring families and kids together to celebrate family, fun and fitness. Won’t you find a race like it and run with your family soon? We’d love to hear about it!

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Photo Credit: iTwixie.com

Character: Character is a set of behavior traits that define what sort of person an individual is. It determines whether a person will effectively achieve goals, be forthright in dealing with others and will obey the laws and rules of the group. Although character is related to personality, it is not the same thing. Personality is primarily inborn traits, while character consists of learned behavior. Both may vary with the situation or circumstances.

Aren’t these girls fabulous? They are full of joy, happiness and are showing off their unique character. Sure they’re dressed up for Halloween — but they aren’t dressed in skimpy outfits, as divas or in the new wave of costume that tries to make our girls look like adults. They’re dressed up as football players! Very cool! Full of character!

To me, character is in crisis today. As a society we do not focus enough on helping to develop character in our budding leaders for tomorrow. This development has to begin early and continue through the pre-adolescent years, because by high school, much of this development must be in place to help our high schoolers make quality choices.

Instead of character development, it seems that our world is much more into complaining about stuff and focussing on appearances. In fact, as a society, we focus so much on appearances, that is it any wonder that our impressionable, young girls are finding themselves in crisis over how they look? Today we have a record number of a few, startling achievements: a record number of tween girls suffering from depression, eating disorders and contemplation of suicide.

Trouble is, there are numerous organizations out there who believe the problem is that our girls have low self esteem.

Maybe that is part of the problem. And, indeed, part of the solution.

But what if, maybe, the trouble starts with each adult today who has dropped the ball in aiding in the character development of our girls?

Regardless of whether or not you agree with me on that one, you will find this next thought challenging at the least and worth trying — TODAY — at the most!

Make TODAY the day that you DO something that empowers YOU and your daughter!

Start these TODAY:
- Stop gossiping at all, but especially in front of your daughter.
- Compliment your daughter on something she has done today, instead of how she looks.
- Do not mention one flaw of yours in front of your daughter.
- Start a meaningful project that your daughter can do as well, such as writing letters to the troops, collecting food for the hungry or designing a new way to collect paperboard for recycling in your home.
- Take 20 minutes and use them to make you and your daughter STRONGER: Lift some weights, or go for a walk or run, or take the Lunge Challenge on iTwixie.com with your daughter — this just might be the start to a whole new and stronger you and stronger daughter.

Well?

I’m no longer accepting comments on this blog, as I began to receive thousands everyday by some new friends representing a broad array of nonsense products. So, alas, until I install better filtering, please send your comments to my up and coming facebook page: A Running Mom!

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

Photo Credit: mendelza

Today I ran with my 3 daughters, my son and his friend, and our dog, Lulu.  We went to a nearby park where I love to run.  This was a special run for me for a bunch of reasons: 1. I am sore from my 6-mile run yesterday, so it was good to go for a light run 2. All three of my tween daughers ran with me, for at least a little while 3. It was a gorgeous day for getting outside and doing something physical together

As we were running back through this huge field, kicking a ball to keep us running and pushing each other to run faster, my eldest daughter and I couldn’t stop laughing, as we kept kicking the ball in front of each other and then raced to get to it first. I felt like I was 8 again, playing with my BFF, laughing while catching my breath and running with no form at all; just running to get to where I needed to go. It was bliss.

My son ran so fast he fell into a heap, trying to get to that ball.

It’s a priceless memory for me already, for the perfect mix of sun, fall, laughter and effort.

Do you run with your kids? What are your fave runs to enjoy together?

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Photo Credit: MrsHoppy

Tip 9: Take A Break

Don’t these girls inspire you?

So I’ve been incredibly quiet as I deal with the reality that I cannot complete a goal I set for myself. My training has been interrupted as I deal with a knee thing and a time contraint thing. But as a dear friend once said to me, sometimes you just need to take a break. The running will wait.

I’m tired of waiting! And yet, as I strengthen the muscles around my knee, I do realize that sometimes you just need a break, it’s true. And maybe I’ll be able to turn my running around and get ‘em for the next one!

In the meantime, since there’s no pain or swelling for miles under 6, I ran a local race 5K and took 2nd in my age group! LOL. It was a fun run. Such a fun run! I finished with a tween girl who ran a terrific race. She is 9. Me? Well, I’m not 9. Or 29. Or 39. But I’m not 49! LOL. But it reminded me of how running races brings joy to all, doesn’t it? You’re outside, with a group of like-minded people, doing something that brings us together in a common bond. Some are nervous. Some are excited. But all are filled with a level of anticipation and then a great sense of accomplishment when the race is over and everyone has done something good.

I enjoyed that finish immensely, not because of a fast time and not because of a great race, but because I helped this little girl finish strong in a race she had no idea that she would win for her age group. Cheers to Elizabeth!

As for me? Well, it builds character to deal with disappointment. It strengthens our spirit to perservere. It give us joy to help out others. These are the things I hope to value in a few weeks after continued rest, a new pair of shoes, and a renewed focus on my running plan.

Hm… there’s a bit of Tip 10 in that one, isn’t there! There’s certainly a great theme to bring to iTwixie.com girls, too! Sometimes we all just need to take a break. Strengthen up. And begin again. It may even make us stronger.

How do you deal with having to to bail on things you value?

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Just like they say on iTwixie.com, let’s be BFFs!

I promise, as your BFF, to:
1. Always share chocolate cake if you have leftovers on your countertop
2. Make sure I’m in bed by 11:30pm, so I can wake up early enough to run with you or to let you know that I did, so you’ll feel motivated to do the same
3. Try and run in the morning, at least 3 days a week, so that on those days I will be chipper all day long and I’ll even try to get you to run with me

That’s the kind of stuff a great BFF will do. I promise I’ll always be your BFF!

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

I’m often reminded that we live in a tiny world. With the launch of iTwixie.com, I’m getting the rare opportunity to hear from girls all over the globe. It’s amazing to me that regardless of culture, many of these girls struggle with many similar themes. And yet, doesn’t it make sense? If you’re a girl 8-14, aren’t you just bursting with enthusisam, curiosity and the wish to be who you feel you really are deep down inside? And as you find yourself experiencing all kinds of new things, aren’t you realizing yourself that there is even more to you than you thought?

Do you remember what it was like to be a tween?

I started to run when I was a tween. I thought running would help me look a certain way. But over time running became my escape. A pressure release. My challenge. Time alone. A moment of clarity. And at the end of every run I felt that everything was really a lot better than before I had gone on that run.

Thing is, today, our global society puts more pressure on our tween girls than ever. But we don’t have to. We can join forces and foster the development of tween girls no matter where they live. We can help tween girls identify tools for identifying their moments of clarity. Escape. Release. Challenge. We can help them see the world around them in a better light.

iTwixie.com. Join the revolution. Because it is a small world and together we can change it!

May your next run be a good one!
Rebecca