Week 4: Tummy Time

 


I am Sergeant Mum, your tummy time drill instructor. And Jude I’m sorry to say, but there will be times you won’t like me. There will be times when you will despise the very marrow, the very fabric of my being. But I’m doing this for you. I’m doing this because I want you to lift your head up high. I want your head to be up with the stars, not down in the gutter. 

There will be time, son, when you'll feel like giving in. When you don’t want to strain those muscles a moment longer. When you’ll want to lie on your back and dream of milk and cuddles.What I say to you, son, is to dig deep. Dig deeper than those JCB’s on your babygrow. Dig deeper than a child at the beach. Dig your way all the way to Australia and you know what you’ll find? You know what you’ll uncover? The secrets of the human body.

A neck, a back, legs, hips, arms, eyes. All strong because in your moment of weakness, you said, 'I will be strong.' You won’t be bent-backed like The Hunchback of bleeding Notre Dame; you’ll be tower-tall like the Beefeater of Buckingham Palace.

So son, the pain will bring gain. The tears of today will yield the garden of tomorrow. I believe in you. So give me everything you’ve got. Clench those gums. Drive those knuckles. Keep that head high. Because what’s that on the horizon, Jude? It’s rolling, crawling, walking. It’s evolution. The ascent of man. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single tummy. 

It’s tummy time, Jude. 

Your time is now.   

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