Shannon Miller!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE GOT TO MEET SHANNON MILLER!!!

The Amazing Shannon

Ok, sorry. My 12-year-old self and my 33-year-old self had to get that out of the way early. I don't want to take away from all the awesome things she has accomplished since the '96 Olympics, but I have had a special place in my heart ever for the Magnificent Seven ever since then. She did not disappoint then and she didn't disappoint on Monday!

Shannon is an amazing speaker, and I have to admit that I didn't take the detailed notes that I normally do during our meetings- I was starstruck and just wanted to drink it all in. Her story would be amazing if it ended at the '96 Olympics, but it doesn't. For me, the most interesting and inspiring parts of her story come later in her life and after her career as a gymnast. I don't want to rehash her whole talk, I know I can't do it justice. Instead, I'm going to talk about a few things that I took away from it.

• Take care of yourself. Shannon used the oxygen on an airplane as a great metaphor; in case of emergency, you have to use your own oxygen first before you can help anyone else. As moms, we really, really need to work hard to heed this advice. Shannon was on the phone to cancel her doctor's appointment when she had a true God moment, took the first available appointment and discovered her cancer. Thank God she took care of herself and her health in that moment. Make those regular doctor's appointments, go to the dentist, make the time to look after your own health. PS I'm speaking directly to myself here. The thought of coordinating appointments to coincide with preschool, or finding a sitter, or the worst option, taking the kids with me, just totally gives me anxiety. So I avoid it and don't make the appointments. That's really dumb. I'm going to do better. If Shannon-Freaking-Miller can make time for a doctor's appointment, I think I can make time. I have far fewer medals to keep track of, so that helps.

• Set a good example for your kids. Where do your kiddos learn the bulk of their life skills? From us. They learn by our words, but a lot of what they learn is from watching what we do. If my kids see me making an effort to be healthy by exercising and making good food choices, that's what they'll learn. Will they still love TV and cookies? Of course they will, they're kids. But they will know that getting exercise and eating right are important to Mommy, so they must be important. 

• Exercise with your kids. Beyond having them see you be active, be active with them! Shannon's foundation puts on a 1 mile fun run that is completely free for kids on May 9th starting at Jacksonville Landing. Signing up is as easy as going here and registering online, or going into and 1st Place Sports location and registering in person.

• Challenge yourself. Shannon talked a bit about being very shy early in her life, and how she made a decision in law school to challenge herself to get over it. She started to accept every public speaking engagement and appearance that she was offered, and eventually it stopped being so difficult. Challenge yourself to do that thing that scares you.

I'm going to stop there. Thank you so much to Michele for making Shannon's appearance happen; hearing your personal story of how she and her race inspired you was really amazing! One last thing- if you're interested in reading Shannon's book when it comes out, here it is. 

St. Mark's MOPS and Shannon Miller