Hey there,

It’s me again. I know you’re sick of me. I’m like the annoying construction noises coming from the Hart Center reconstruction that you know isn’t going anywhere for a while. Or the ice machine that just keeps breaking. But, I just needed to say a few things.

First off, you drive me crazy. Constantly telling me what to do. Handing out bad news. Holding me back from doing what I love. Just kidding. Here’s what I really needed to say:

Thank you. Despite everything I’ve put you through, you’ve stuck by me. You’ve believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself. You’ve treated me when all you wanted to do was call it a day. You’ve come into the office to help me when you could be home relaxing. You’ve gone above and beyond your line of duty.

Thank you. You told me to suck it up and be an athlete. You found a way to make me positive no matter what the diagnosis was. You gave me faith that everything would be okay. You taught me how to listen to my body and treat it right.

Thank you. You understand me better than most people. You know what my faces mean. You know when I just need to have a heart to heart. You know when I need to slow down and when I need to speed up. You know what I can achieve and you hold me to the highest of standards.

Thank you. For answering my phone calls and my texts. For scolding me. For congratulating me. For acknowledging me. For seeing my potential. For teaching me the meaning of “no pain, no gain.”

Thank you. For having little to no mercy. For pushing me to do one more. For never letting me slack off. For never letting me give up on myself.

Thank you for believing, for never giving up, for tolerating, for sympathizing, for not sympathizing, for making me tough, for making me strong. For attempting to make me flexible (it’s a constant work in progress).

Thank you, because without you, I wouldn’t have made it this far and I wouldn’t have faith in the fact that I still have a long career ahead of me.

Thank you. For being my best friend, my #1 fan, my other coach, my voice of reason and so much more. Thank you for being you.

Thank you for allowing me to continue being me.

Thank you for everything you’ve done and everything you will do.

I don’t say any of this nearly enough. In fact, I probably have given you some dirty looks and whiny voices when you mentioned soft tissue, graston, combo, or the dreaded word concussion. But, I promise you I’m thankful for all of it. You’ve kept me going and, for that, I am forever grateful. So for good measure: Thank you. Because not everyone would put up with me the way you do.

Sincerely,

Your most frequent visitor.