Yesterday was a rest day. Today is Labor Day — a work day, according to my trouper daughter.

She has goals of her own, and I am just sneaky enough to tag along. It feels really good, and so beautiful, to have that.

I have three daughters. All three are beautiful on the outside and on the inside, and I am truly blessed to have them. I would carry the world for them. I would catch fire for them — which I have, and which I will do for the rest of my life.

They give meaning to this journey: reclaiming my body and my health. There is nothing I want more than to raise them with a path toward a healthy and rich life, in every sense of the word.

The lesson we keep teaching

My husband and I constantly tell them that they will fall — many times. But that is not the important part. The important thing is to keep going. To get up again and start walking.

To own your life and be accountable for its success.

No one but them can make it happen. We can only give them tools and teach them to be good humans — better than us in everything, to succeed us, to stay true and honest, and to choose a happy heart full of love and strong family bonds.

Having strong family bonds does not mean always being alike or never having disagreements. It means never letting those differences get in the way. It means coming back to one another.

All three of my girls are proof of the love they have received from me, my husband, and our whole extended family. We are so blessed. I am so blessed.

My fellow trouper

The daughter who takes me to the gym is proof of that love. Sharing my journey, and now being supported by her as such a good human, is deeply gratifying to experience.

She has her own goals, her own strength, and her own reasons for showing up. Yet she brings me along, too. Sometimes that quiet companionship is everything. She reminds me that movement is not always about the perfect workout or the number on a screen. Sometimes it is simply about walking through the door and doing the next right thing together.

She does not even need to say much. Her presence says enough.

The one who chooses to sparkle

My second daughter is so wonderfully happy. She has started working, and she sparkles with joy. Even if she is standing in the rain all day in only a blouse under an umbrella, greeting people, she does it with true happiness.

And this is a young woman who knows heartbreak.

She is proof that we can choose to live and sparkle anyway. I love her beautiful heart. Her heart is embedded in mine. All of theirs are.

Watching her meet the world with warmth, no matter the weather or what life has asked of her, reminds me that joy is not always something that arrives when everything is easy. Sometimes it is a choice we make again and again.

The guardian of my heart

And then there is my third one.

She is the one who made me believe and have faith again. She blessed my life when she was born, and she has always stepped up when needed, no matter her age. As early as eight months old, she carried compassion and later the role of big sister. She has always shared empathy and kindness.

I think she was sent as a guardian of my heart — constantly reminding me that it is worth letting it bleed when it is hurt, instead of turning it to stone. She reminds me that we can trust another human being. She has that gift, even without knowing it.

When she was only eight months old, she was not crawling yet. I sat her on the floor with safe support behind her, while I lay flat on the floor beside her. I held her leg and stayed close so she would not tip over while I was overcome by a severe migraine attack.

I do not know how long I was out. But I woke up to her small hand petting my hair.

From that moment, I knew she was sent from the one who had already crossed over to the other side.

Today, her voice is an angel singing to my soul when she sings. I cannot help crying when I listen to her songs in the car by myself. I am so struck by the blessings I have been given in this life.

What is worth fighting for

All of them are worth fighting for.

The work of reclaiming my body and health is not only about me. It is about being present in the life we share. It is about showing them that we can begin again, that we can keep going after we fall, and that love can be the reason we choose to care for ourselves.

My daughters are my why. They are why I keep taking the next step, even when it is small.

And to the one who fills my heart and soul with love and happiness — the one I am one with, who makes it possible for all of us to live this life — my one and only, my husband: I love you.

I cannot put into words how blessed I am to share our life and our girls with you. I will love you until the end of time.

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