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The Story of AttaGirl!
When I was little, my Grandparents called every Sunday. No matter what I said to him, my Grandfather would always say, "Atta Girl!" How awesome - to know that he was proud of me, no matter what! And what a great name for a company dedicated to celebrating women's accomplishments. Thanks, Grampy!
A few years ago, I started shopping for local beads while on vacation so that I could make jewelry as souvenirs instead of collecting more t-shirts and trinkets. When my running buddy, Danielle, and I were training for our first Half Marathon (the Inaugural in the Outer Banks of North Carolina), I decided to make us matching bracelets once we finished. We joked throughout the training process that we were the ultimate “penguins”, so I planned on including a penguin charm in the design.
After we crossed the line and got our medals, it didn’t matter how fast or slow we were – we just knew we were strong women who persevered and reached our goal; I made the bracelets as a celebration and a reminder of our accomplishment (minus the penguins!) I love wearing mine – it reminds me of the months of training – getting up early even on the really dark and cold mornings. It reminds me of how cool it felt to say, “Yeah, we ran 8 today,” knowing that the next weekend would bring an even bigger challenge and that we would rise to it. It reminds me of the rain that pelted us for the last few miles of the race and of the torrential downpour that started just after we crossed the finish line.
I have never been a tremendously athletic person. I shied away from team sports and was picked last in gym class as much as the next girl who loved books more than basketball. I was so excited to actually score a goal in floor hockey when I was in 5th Grade. I was moving fast down the court and no one was in my way – so exciting. Until I put the fuzzy yarn ball into the net and my teammates informed me that I’d just scored for the other team! What I love about running is that I am only competing against myself - reaching my goal one mile at a time. The way I look at it, we all win – even those who train faithfully but have to miss the race because of injury or family crisis. The winning is in setting goals and working toward them; in getting stronger…running a little further each time out; in conquering our doubts and turning our backs on the notion that we can’t, because WE CAN!
Most importantly, though, this is a part of my spiritual journey. Maybe it sounds a little "freaky," but I know the dream of this venture is a gift from God. So I am holding tight to it and eager to see how He works through this.
Philippians 1:6 ... being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
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