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This year, I asked for a pair of Nike Air Force 1s.

Sneakers have only recently started piquing my interest, and these seemed like a great choice. Who doesn’t love a classic?

They arrived early, and I wore them for the first time today as I took my son to daycare. He’s 16 months old.

Later, while cleaning out a closet at home, my mother-in-law came across my baby book. We sat together on the floor, admiring my mother’s hard work, detailed notes, and daily schedules. Calendars marked with small milestones like “pulled off own sock” flipped through my fingers.

Sticking out of the soft-padded pink binder, about 3-quarters of the way to the end, was a 5-page advertisement.

For Nike.

The pages had been carefully removed from a Better Homes and Gardens, or maybe a Sailing Magazine, and the glossy pages were slightly yellow from years hiding in drawers and attics.

I would like to share with you, a 1991 Advertisement for Women’s Nikes with a message from my mother to me:

Remembering What Matters:

My mother passed away nearly 7 years ago.

But she always knew, always understood, what it meant to be a born a girl in modern America. The trials, the marathons, and the short hard-as-hell sprints along the way. In just my first year on this earth, she knew. Seven years after she left this earth, she is still….right on.

This month I celebrate 6 months cancer free.

I’m a successful career woman. I’m a mother. I’m a daughter & daughter-in-law. I’m a wife, a friend, and more. I am preparing to leave for my first yoga retreat. I will spend time healing, feeling, and stretching my body and spirit. Preparing myself to continue to run this race. All the way to the finish line.

Mom, thank you for your gift this year. A reminder to slow down, take care of myself, and rest.

Yes Nike. I will Just Do It.