Back when I was obsessed with [solidcore], one of my favorite coaches was a guy named Nick who guest-coached at our small Wilmington studio from his home base in Philly. Nick made my mornings — he was adorable and friendly, and always delivered a killer workout with a great playlist to boot. [SIDE NOTE: @nickswanson is now at @solidcore DC, for those who live in the area and enjoy torture with a smile and a solid playlist.]
One of my favorite things about Nick was his lightheartedness and ability to make fun of himself — especially when he messed up on the mic. “Words are hard” was his refrain when he stumbled through a sentence or made a mistake calling out the sequence. That phrase always made me smile.
Last Thursday, I was following a @onepeloton strength workout at home and the instructor, Callie, had a brain freeze moment. After fumbling over the word for triceps, she declared, “Words are hard!” It made me smile and immediately think of Nick, which made me smile even bigger.
Later that day, the phrase hit me again — but in a different way.
As I was backing my bag to travel to NY for O.G. Stan’s memorial service (if you don’t know who I’m talking about, reread that post here to understand), I was thinking about how difficult the event was going to be and how awkward I am in these situations. Words are hard, especially when you’re grieving.
While I was sobbing and stumbling, Carin, my friend of almost 40 years, was a rock star. She was calm and composed, and delivered the most beautiful, eloquent, heartfelt, and touching eulogy about her father — with a little humor sprinkled in because, after all, O.G. Stan liked to laugh and joke.
Mary, Carin’s mother and Stan’s wife, solemnly declared, “We are here to celebrate Stan’s life, not mourn his death.” — and that is exactly what we did.
Over time, I’m sure I’ll get better at this — speaking those hard words around death — because, sadly, the world keeps giving me chances to practice. But practice makes progress … Even when words are hard.
— LJDT
❤️