Monday, November 3, 2008

From my dad.....and For my dad...


I got this email from my dad this morning...obviously it brought tears to my eyes because I don't think you ever get tired of hearing your parents tell you that they're proud of you. I have the best parents (and in-laws =0) in the world....i'm very lucky---and I must admit that I get my athletic side from my dad, it fares far better than my mom's artistic side =0.

Meri,
As the saying goes...You've come a long way baby !!
From the "little spark plug"who hated practicing an hour a week to the young woman who loves to kill herself 6 to 7 hours a DAY !
Iron Lady (half)......5hours,22 seconds....good enough for second in your class and 14th FEMALE overall.
I must admit that when you started I never imagined you would love the sport as much as you do.You have proven once again however,that you can do anything ,if you work hard and have the desire and determination to excel.
Good luck in your final "full" Iron Man and if fatigue appears,I'll be riding on your shoulder,so call on me.I hope I am not too heavy.
Love,your proud PoP !

Pre-race motivation doesn't get much better than that does it??

I love you dad, thank you for always pushing me "just the right amount," for always coming to all my soccer games and using "visualization," before people even knew what it was "Meri, picture yourself shooting....SCORE!"

.......for standing out on the tennis court with me for hours while I served and you returned and I scrambled =0 and for telling me it was "ok," to not want to give up my social life to play tennis in college--that it was ok to want to socialize and be a normal girl.

....for coming to all my swim meets even though it was probably the least favorite thing for you and mom to watch--all that standing around for hours before I finally raced.

....for hugging me when I did well, and when I didn't win....you never passed judgement, you were just "there," to support me.

As I get older, I realize how hard it is to be a parent. I'm not one myself, but i've learned from others so far, that it's finding the balance between supporting your children and helping them learn motivation on their own.

Somehow....my parents got it right!

I was so fortunate last year to have my parents with me at Ironman Florida--and this year, they're going to be visiting in San Diego for Thanksgiving right after Arizona....and I know that they'll be watching on Ironman live when I finish in three weeks!

Off to grab a tissue =0




7 comments:

Amanda Lovato said...

Oh Meredith,
This is my favorite post so far! You are so BLESSED!

Lauren said...

Awe - I love Ernie!!! They did a great job - that's why you turned out the way you did :)

Anonymous said...

Ernie your are the best.

Bonnie

Jen's Journey said...

I agree...what a blessing! It makes me miss my Dad who is so far away from me right now.

I wanted to thank you for stopping by the other day. I actually got you and Amanda confused here recently because SO many amazing athletes have come by my blog and I have found a ton of wonderful triathletes lately!!!

You all are my total inspiration! I look at all you do and it just leave me with a feeling of anything is possible if you work hard and never stop reaching!!

What you wrote meant the world to me! I am trying so hard to take back the years I spent over weight and in active and 2009 will definitely be the my year to shine!!

It is a dark and cold day over here in Siberia! FUN!!! The snow and ice are coming so it will be back to running on the tread for me until the end of December when we get to move back to the US!!

I have signed up for my first tri in May! Before I gained my weight I raced and even did a tri in high school but in college I just let myself go and before I knew it I was so overweight and lost who I was.

So this tri in May will be a VERY big step for me becoming the athlete I long to be! It is a short sprint tri but it is a start!!

I have been so blessed to meet each and every one of you on here and I look forward to watching your amazing journey!

Thanks again for the support!

Work hard, Reach high - Jen xx

BreeWee said...

LOVE it, frame that note from your dad!

Jennifer Yake Neuschwander said...

Mer,

That is so awesome. You are really incredible. You do such a great job of making the best out of training and balancing your family life. Thanks for being so inspiring for the rest of us.

Anonymous said...

this is a really beautiful blog! you are right.. you are blessed to have such a loving family! they did an amazing job cause you are a beautiful daughter... inside and out! Go Trowbridge family!! Love, Nicole