Live Love Lacrosse
Page 15
“We all do it, but I learned that eating foods just for taste alone is disastrous.”
“Give us some of your highlights. Best food.”
“That’s a tough one. Different foods bring you different things, but if I had to pick one, I’d say broccoli because it has powerful antioxidants, calcium, anti-inflammatory properties, and helps make your body less acidic.”
“Worst food?”
“Sodas and sugary drinks. They are the absolute worst thing you can put in your body. Drink water, people. Drink water.”
Missy nodded. “Best exercise?”
“Any.” Addie smiled, but realized she should expand on her answer. “If I had to choose one, I’d say walking. It’s easy, requires no equipment, and everyone can do it. But if you can’t walk for some reason, then just keep moving. Lift your legs while watching TV. Do arm curls with the TV remote.”
Missy laughed. “So move it or lose it, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Now, in your book, you talk a lot about balance. Balance in food, balance in exercise. Balance in all things, really.
“Yep,” Addie said. “Balance in mind, body, and soul. I play lacrosse, but I also do yoga. And I eat a variety of foods now. Back then I didn’t. I was never exposed to it, and it’s a rare kid that’s going to explore new foods on her own.”
“What about pizza?”
“Are you asking if I eat it?”
Missy nodded. Apparently she’d forgotten the director’s instructions as well.
“Yes, of course I eat pizza. But I don’t eat it every day, and I usually balance it out with a side salad or something. And I don’t eat more than my body wants. If I ate too much, I wouldn’t feel well. I think people don’t realize how bad they feel on a regular basis. They simply aren’t in touch with their bodies. It’s not normal to groan when you stand up from a chair or to get winded when you walk from your car to the grocery store. People have simply gotten used to feeling bad and know nothing different. That’s exactly how it was when I was a kid. Before I got help navigating all the mixed messages about healthy eating and healthy activity, I landed in an ambulance. Once I did get help, I learned to shut out all the garbage and listen carefully to my own body.”
“Well, I for one am going to read your book again, and learn how to listen. And I know I speak for everyone here at America in the Morning, when I wish you and the entire women’s national lacrosse team the best of luck at the Olympics games later this summer.”
“Thank you,” Addie said and smiled.
“Cut,” the director said. “That’s a wrap. Thank you, Ms. Coleburn and thank you, Missy.”
Addie smiled and stood up. Kimi bounded over as a tech undid the microphone clipped to Addie’s shirt. A second tech did the same for Missy.
“That was so good, Addie,” Kimi said.
“Thanks, Kimi.”
“Girls,” Missy Raines gushed, “I am a real fan. Wow, I shouldn’t call you girls, should I? You’re both beautiful young women. Early twenties, right?”
Kimi and Addie nodded.
“I’ve never played lacrosse myself, but I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your team play. Your World Cup win a couple of years ago was phenomenal and now you’re getting to go to the Olympics. Aren’t you stoked?”
“Absolutely,” Addie answered. “We hope to represent America well.”
“And show the world the awesome sport of lacrosse,” Kimi added.
“I imagine that you and your teammates are ambassadors of sorts.”
“In a way, we are,” Addie said. “Our team motto is ‘Live, Love, Lacrosse.’”
“I love that,” Missy said. “It sums up your idea about balance, doesn’t it?”
Addie nodded.
“And the whole world will be watching,” Kimi added. “If we can churn up interest in the sport we love, then we’ve done our job. Oh, and I guess we should bring home a gold medal, too, right, Addie?”
Addie and Kimi exchanged a glance. It had become a dream of theirs somewhere in the middle of their first Onondaga Owls season together, the summer they first met. “We’re going to try, Kimi. We’re going to try.”
“And as far as this book,” Missy said, “I think you have a hit here. You say you wrote it for kids, but I’m going to learn from it, too.” Her assistant stepped up and said she was needed on another set. She said her goodbyes and then mumbled under her breath, “Balance. It’s all about balance.”
“Balance, schmalance,” Kimi quipped. “What it’s really about is . . .”
“Smooth poops,” Addie and Kimi squealed together, turning into the eleven year olds they truly still were inside.
Barbara L. Clanton is a native New Yorker who left those “New York minutes” for the slower-paced palm-tree-filled life in Orlando, Florida. While still in school she played any sport she could find: softball, volleyball, basketball, and field hockey. During high school, she could even be found in the upstairs gym playing team handball with her friends. She played softball at Princeton and was the captain her senior year. She currently teaches mathematics at a college preparatory school in the Orlando area and has coached both softball and basketball in both New York and Florida. She still plays softball, but has picked up a new hobby! “Dr. Barb” plays bass guitar in a pop-rock band called The Flounders. Her writing credits so far include two Title IX books for Bedazzled Ink and eight young adult novels from Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC.