My daughter, who inherited her less-than-impressive upper body strength from her mama, has been working for weeks to successfully cross the monkey bars on the playground at her school. You’d think the only thing she does all day at kindergarten is enjoy recess. Every night at dinner my husband and I get a little update on the monkey bar progress, and every night we encourage our girl to keep working at it, to build up her muscles (and callouses!).
Yesterday when I picked her up from school, my girlie was so excited to show me how close she was to making it all the way across: “Just a few bars from the end, Mommy!” I told her we’d film her efforts and send the video off to all her grandparents. Well, it just so happens that THIS was the time she conquered the monkey bars! (Man, am I glad I caught it on film!)
Two things about this video strike a major mommy-emotional chord. First, my daughter’s unrestrained joy and pride at having finally, after weeks and weeks of hard work, met her goal. And second, the way her adorable litte friend cheers her on, and is equally excited about her success. Reminds me of my CPs and betas and writing friends and blog followers, who are always in my corner.
And now I’m inspired to get back to writing so I can finally meet one of my goals.
When was the last time you were unexpectedly inspired?
katyupperman.com 
Woohoo! Good for her! That’s a good lesson to remember.
Isn’t it? It was very timely for me, too, which is why I thought it would be fun to share. 🙂
What a beautiful moment! And a great lesson. Keep going, Katy, you can do it! 🙂
Thanks, Sara! Funny how kiddos can teach us so much. 🙂
Congratulations to your daughter for reaching her goal and to you for a well-timed record!
Haha… Thank you! So glad I caught this moment on video.
Awww, great video!
Thanks, lady! How are you? How goes the writing?
Aww, her friend cheering in the background!! (Almost there, C! Three more…two more..!!!!) Gah, it nearly killed me. This was adorable. Good for your girlie.
(And for the record, I took a boot camp class at my gym recently and they had us do the monkey bars. I used to be an animal on those as a kid. SO HARD AS AN ADULT. I had blisters in no time and could barely finish. Tell C, I’m impressed with her skills. ;))
I know — her friend… Too cute!
And yeah… I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get across those monkey bars. My shoulders hurt just thinking about it!
So cute! And such a sweet lesson on stick-to-it-iveness. (My mom used to always talk about that. I have no idea how to spell it.)
Stick-to-it-iveness looks right to me. And yes… Totally a lesson I’ve been needing lately. 🙂
Oh my goodness, Katy. This video was just precious! Thank you so much for sharing. I knew from your post that she made it, but I was totally on the edge of my seat for her! I couldn’t help noticing too how she kept her eyes focused, straight ahead – she didn’t look down or around – and her sheer joy at the end was priceless. Thanks for this beautiful reminder of the power of hard work, faith, and what it means to have friends and loved ones cheering us on (always, whether we’re one bar away or stuck in the middle!).
“..the power of hard work, faith, and what it means to have friends and loved ones cheering us on (always, whether we’re one bar away or stuck in the middle!).”
Yes. Perfectly stated, Tem!
That’s awesome! She’s going to keep doing great things, if she can work that hard without getting discouraged now. Love this!
Thanks, Jess! I agree, and I hope my girlie realizes that as well. 🙂
AWWWWWWWWWWW 🙂
I know, right?! 😉
I am not even embarrassed to admit that this video totally made me tear up. As a mom, my greatest moments are when I see my daughter accomplish something amazing. Good for her!
Well, I’m not embarrassed to say that I’ve watched it about a dozen times… Totally makes me smile. And you are SO right, Tameka. Seeing my daughter succeed is the *best* feeling in the world.
So, I may have watched this more than once because it’s just so adorable (your girlie, her little friend cheering her one, the big finish…so great). 🙂 And it’s exactly the lesson that I needed today. I’m lacking in the tenacity department these days. Thanks for sharing this, Katy! 🙂
It was a timely reminder for me as well, Jaime. I love when my daughter’s innocence and spunk teach me a lesson. 🙂
Awww, that video is soooo adorable! I love that her friends cheered her on. 🙂
Thanks, Ghenet! That’s one of my favorite parts too!
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! Wow! What a lesson indeed! She´s so focused and the friends cheering her on! And the way she turns to you at the end and calls you! Adorable! She did amazing and is definitely reminding me how tenacity is so important!
Thanks so much, Elodie! Those are totally my favorite bits too. 🙂 And thanks again for spreading the love via Twitter.
That is so adorable, and yay for your daughter, and for you getting to see it and catch it on film!
Thank you, Sophia! I am SO glad I was there with my camera at the ready. 🙂 How are things?
That’s awesome. So cute. Loved the friend cheering her on at the end. She is a tall little thing.
Thanks, Mandie! I love that her friend is cheering her on as well. We are very lucky that my girlie is in a class full of really sweet kiddos.
And yes, she is super tall, and comes by it honestly — I’m 5’9″. 🙂
Oh my goodness that was adorable. Her smile at the end—priceless. I love her cheerleaders. We all need those. 🙂
Thanks, Tracey! I agree — cheerleaders are the best. 🙂
What an awesome moment to catch on video! So many of these firsts happen before you know it and there isn’t time to grab the camera. Your daughter’s enthusiasm and determination is very inspiring!
Thanks, Erin… I agree. 🙂 And yay me — for once I actually had the camera up and ready to go!
Aw, this is super-sweet!
Thanks so much, Crystal. ❤
Oh man. Awesome mom award! Nice to see she has a firm grasp of physics too, since she knows about using her own momentum.
Matt, you never fail to make me laugh. 🙂 As I’ve said… I think you deserve an Amazing Parent Award too. Your daughter’s love for Harry Potter makes me so happy!
Ohmygosh – that was just the sweetest thing EVER. Thank you so much for sharing this! And yay for Claire!!!
Aww, thanks! I’ve watched that little video an embarrassing amount of times. 🙂