You know that feeling you get in your belly when something works? It just WORKS? Your effort and intensity, your hustle and dreams…they collide and you just want to shout it out? Me, too.
And I fully get, both the desire to tell the world AND hide it from everyone – just in case it looks like you are bragging. But friends…here’s the thing…the people who love you?
They will be excited for you.
They will celebrate.
They will ask questions and want to hear about it.
They will cartwheel WITH YOU.
These are the people you want in your world.
Cartwheelers.
Be a Cartwheeler.
I’ve been thinking about what it looks like to lose a friend, to realize people you *thought* were friends aren’t quite of the character you once believed…this has been a recent experience and an eye-opening and painful one. Sometimes you simply outgrow the ties that bound you in friendship or you may need to understand you are no longer serving each other. In this ‘second-half’ season of my life, I’m finding friendship holds a special place in my world.
Some people don’t need friends.
I do.
I admit it. I love having people in my world to support, people who remind me to embrace gratitude, people who make me laugh, get my sense of humor, reign in my crazy ideas, remind me to take care of myself, allow me to do the same with them and yes, cartwheel when something amazing happens.
As a mother of a teenage girl, I’ve also been deep in thought as I watch her navigate middle school friendships and the beautiful, but fickle nature that makes up girls this age. We’ve been having some extraordinary conversations about what she is seeking, how to recognize loyalty and betrayal, how to trust and how to forgive.
Cartwheel when the simple or the spectacular fall in to place.
Make a great play in softball? Awesome.
Get a good grade after studying hard? That’s great!
Hit 100 subscribers on your new Youtube Channel? You did? Amazing.
Accepted to the high school of your choice? WAY TO GO!
Like me, she is equally willing to cartwheel for you. But that is the beauty of friendship – the give and the take, the talking and the listening, the worrying and the celebrating.
This past month I received news that made me giddy. I was given the opportunity for what I considered to be a dream job. (Spoiler alert, it imploded…but that is for another post…soon.)
I get it. Not everything needs to be posted on social media….but intrinsically, I KNEW. These people….the people I am connected to daily on social, on Facebook – these are the people who will cartwheel for me.
Surround yourself by the cartwheelers, for they are the soul-food of friendship.
When I shared my good news – that I’d been hired to do live broadcasts for Amazon – my people cheered, asked questions, sent private messages, asked how they could share and support, and cartwheeled right along with me. I don’t know that I have ever felt quite so buoyed by the generosity that is support and celebration in friendship.
It fed my soul. It nurtured me through the first live broadcast (and oh my goodness – so many of you not only watched, but messaged with support and even PURCHASED. I don’t know what I did to deserve such goodness!) and it has been my salve as that excitement evaporated with the cancellation of that same contract.
But you know who lifted me as that door closed?
The very same people who perfected their cartwheels when my world felt like it was filled with sunshine. And I’ll be honest, their willingness to cheer for me, gave me the courage to be vulnerable and share how things had fallen apart.
Let me tell you again….
Be the one celebrating at the end of the race.
Be the one your friends can call when they are afraid they sound like they are bragging.
Be the one who jumps through the phone when their husband spoils them with the most extraordinary gift, but they worry it will sound like ‘too much’ if they share publicly.
Be the one willing to celebrate the small, but mighty milestone.
Be the one who can push the tinge of jealousy aside, know that your time is coming and celebrate with your person.
Be the one who ‘knew they could do it’.
Be that cartwheeler.
You have it in you, friends. Thank you for being a cartwheeler for me and for so many.
I always have to cheer my daughter on. She could not think of her greatest accomplishment even though she runs track, volunteers and achieves so well at school. I will try and give her confidence.
I’ve always been and always will be a cheerleader for my kids and friends. I’ve never heard of this term cartwheeler I guess I am that too!
We all need more cartwheelers in our lives! I’ve been blessed to have had mostly cartwheelers in my life. When you experience that kind of person, you can always tell when you’re in the presence of a person who isn’t.
Beautiful life advice. And I just love your writing so much – don’t we all need more cartwheelers in our life?!
I am one of those people who NEEDS to be around cartwheelers. I don’t have any use for people who aren’t like that.
I’ll admit I’m not someone who needs friends, but I sure enjoy having close friends. Some of my best friendships are from people who I didn’t really seem to click with at first, but our friendship has turned into something great!
I am of the school of thought that we should have cartwheelers. We all should celebrate our achievements and what better way than knowing you have friends who celebrate with you? Those are keepers!
What I miss right now are my good old friends who have moved out of state and whom I rarely see. The only friends I have right now are my cousins and my siblings of course. However, there are matters that are better discussed with close friends than with family who can be impartial with their advice. Hopefully, I find some new friends soon. Those who are true blue cartwheelers!
This is the most beautifully written post ever. I can hear the love you have for your daughter in this post and she sounds pretty amazing. I love the cartwheel sort of friends, they really can make a day more beautiful and happy!
Thank you so much for this, Maureen – I so appreciate your kind words.
It’s so important to have these kinds of friends- and to be this kind of friend. It’s amazing the difference it can make when you let go of someone who was only pretending to be a cartwheeler but was really tearing you down.
I love that. It’s good to be the kind of friend that people are comfortable sharing their achievements with. It’s nice to be supportive and positive. It’s the kind of friend that we all need as well.
I love this post so much, and cartwheeler couldn’t be a more perfect word. You are always spreading joy and I love it!
So absolutely beautifully written. I never thought of it that way, but “cartwheel friends” are totally the type of people I like to surround myself with.
Cartwheelers are the real glue of a group of friends. I would love to be that one!
Those are exactly the people we need in our lives. I am so grateful I had “cartwheelers” in my life who cheer for me. I need to make sure I’m paying it forward and doing virtual cartwheels for those people.
I love this post! Beautifully written! I agree with you, having the right kind of friends is really important. Be that kind of friend and attract people with the same mindset and attitude. 🙂
I am definitely a cartwheeling friend. You must always be supportive with your friend be their biggest cheerleaders.
Because we believe in you. Because I know you would do a cartwheel for me. I’ve lost a few good friendships over the last couple years…it is painful…but you know what? I have new cartwheelers. I think that is the way life works sometimes. I’ll always cartwheel for you. xox
Lovely Danielle. I love the imagery of cartwheeling support!