Do Unto Others...

I've been thinking about this for a good bit. It all started with me getting pregnant, and a girl from the gym got pregnant about 2 weeks after me. I haven't seen her in person for nearly a year, but we've stayed in touch because we were pregnant and now we are mommies! I gave birth three weeks early, and she gave birth eight weeks early. We both are educators. We both have NICU babies. Harper Grace spent less than a week there, but Ellie Faith will have to stay longer. 

We're at least ten years apart in age. She's incredibly fit (you know, one of THOSE girls). In the gym, she was quiet and me...well, I was boisterous. We're alike, yet so different. 

Let me tell you why I like her so much. She doesn't know this, no one does. It's all about how she treated me one morning.

It was a 5 am boot camp, and we were divided into groups of four. For some reason I was separated from my usual foursome. Basically, your group had to do a certain set of exercises and then you had to run. We all know, no matter how much I wanted yo love it, I hated to run. I hated to be the "fat kid" in this group. I hated to slow everyone down- especially my new partner. The fit girl. The girl who runs and could wear those black exercise pants without a side of fruit for cottage cheese. 

One of the other people in my group should've acted like my friend. They'd worked out with me plenty before. They knew my ability level. Problem? They didn't. 

My new partner could've run laps around me- multiple laps. She didn't. She could've done 10000000 sit ups to my 100, but she didn't. She kept a pace I could tolerate and never once complained. In fact, she even walked some with me.

Remember the other person that I expected to be supportive or at least kind? She blew past me and said, "I'm so tired of this." She didn't want to wait. She wasn't worried about the success of our assigned team. She sure as hell wasn't worried about my feelings- if she was, she would've whispered...or waited until she was way ahead of me to mouth off. I mean, let's be honest, she was faster than me and would've been ahead. 

It's funny when we see the true side of people. The person I expected to be frustrated and disappointed to be my teammate wasn't, and the person I expected to be kind...wasn't. 

So, a year later, I remember this. It still weighs on me. It probably always will. Fat people will understand this. People who have been picked on will get it. I was trying to change and grow, and this person discouraged that. I'm sure not intentionally, but it doesn't matter. 

Thank you, Bethany, for showing true character.