A LifeTime of Firsts

1/31/2021

This was a speech that I wrote for club that I am.
I figured that it would be nice to read something inspiring and uplifting. I hope you guys enjoy!

If there is anything that I can tell this group of amazing individuals this evening is that life turns us in multiple directions without warning.

That doesn’t mean that we should hide our heads under the covers in fear, it means that there will alway be a first time for everything. A lifetime of firsts that we all should embrace.

There is no need to worry when your first might come. It will when you are in the right place, and at the right time.

Like choking on a strawberry, or slipping on ice on your way to school, firsts will always be there.

I will never forget the first time that I drove over a median on the road and the car was vertical for just a minute. We were fine! No one was hurt. We just took an unexpected vertical ride for a short minute.

Or two. It was a nice change to our normal routine. My husband seemed to liven up shortly after.

Allow me to share our family’s favorite story of firsts which is a story about my daughters. It was a beautiful day in early spring, and I decided that it was a great day for a trip to the park. I packed my daughter’s into our car, and rode to the park with them. They were excited to get out of the house.

When we got to the park they could hardly contain their excitement. Both jumped out of the car in an instant, running everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. The park had a big yellow tunnel slide, a set of swing sets, monkey bars, and the ground was lined with wood chips.

Being the ever so careful young mom that I was, I chose to sit in a spot where I could keep them in clear view and within earshot.

I watched them both with so much love as they continued to play well into the afternoon. During this time, children came and went. One little girl took interest in my daughters. They played and rode down the big yellow tunnel slide. Their excited little voices could be heard for miles as they went down that big yellow tunnel slide. It wasn’t until there was a small argument on who would go down first that things began to take a turn.

My middle child, Samira, came down the slide first and landed on a bed of wood chips. As she was getting up, the little girl jumped out from behind the slide with a handful of wood chips. She flung that handful of wood chips in Samria’s hair!

Samira began to cry. Her small face had tears running down it as her big sister came to comfort her. It was so nice to watch the two girls at that moment, one comforting, the other wiping the tears from her face.

Then, as my older daughter was taking out the wood chips from Samira’s hair, I heard Samira take a deep inhale. “Let’s get her.”

I watched horrified as both girls took off behind the little girl who was now by the monkey bars. One sister knocked the girl down and sat on her, while the other crouched down by her head. Samira poured, and poured all the wood chips her little hands could gather onto the girl’s head. The little girl was crying, and screaming. She was shaking her head from side to side trying to get the wood chips away from her face. But, the more she screamed, the more wood chips would fall in the little girl’s mouth.

What was I to do? I pulled my daughters off that little girl that was screaming. With one tucked under each of my arms, I quickly walked to my car and put both of the girls in their seats. I got into the driver’s seat and took off, never looking back at the park.

That was the first time I broke up a fight.

It was the first time I watched the girls comfort one another. It was the first time I saw how deep their bond went. It was the first time they worked as a team. It was the first time Samira stood up for herself and it was the first time I witnessed the courage of a 3 and 5 year old.

How many times in our lifetimes have we been afraid of our firsts? How many times have we tried to avoid our firsts? Without our firsts there would not be amazing stories to tell. We would not be able to learn how much courage or strength we really have. We would not be able to grow stronger once that first time has passed.

Every first comes with lessons.

The first time I broke up a fight I learned that my daughters are not to be messed with.

The first time I drove over that median, I realized my glasses were important.

The first time I fell on ice on my way to school I realized that I could not rush through anything to get to my end goal.

The first time my son choked on a strawberry, he learned to be wary of a person telling a joke at the dinner table.

It is my sincere hope that everyone who listens here tonight has a lifetime of firsts. I hope that we all wake up every morning to throw those covers off our heads. I hope we all embrace those firsts with the courage and strength that we gained from our last firsts.

Tonight, please join me in celebrating one of my firsts- Writing and delivering a humorous speech for Toastmasters. Thank you.

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