Her Perspective
Go the Distance
By Liz Biggs
I Netflixed the fantastic “Remarkably Bright Creatures” the other night and was moved when Lewis Pullman’s character, Cameron, sings Radiohead’s “I Can’t” at an open mic night. The lyrics are so relatable:
“My strange and creeping doubt
It keeps rattling my cage
Even though I might
Even though I try
I can’t.”
How many of us have felt this way at one time or another? I know I have.
When sad Radiohead “creeps” into my head (see what I did there), and I find myself listening to Beck’s “Lost Cause,” I try to change the brain station to Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush’s duet, “Don’t Give Up.” Although, it is only slightly less depressing than Radiohead, lol. Thanks to Keyla Richardson’s American Idol performance, I can now add Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up” to my list of inspirational songs — but it’s a bit too deep in the mellow-motivational genre. I think the song that takes the cake in the don’t-give-up department is Cake’s “The Distance.” Their funk gets you out of your funk.
One year ago, I was having bone graft surgery on my uncooperative, severely broken finger. My right hand was stuck in a claw position from lack of use and movement due to the immobilization required for my broken bone to heal. At one point, I didn’t think I’d ever regain full use of my dominant hand. It took a solid year and a crazy amount of occupational therapy to be able to open a jar. I still can’t snap my fingers.
Playing tennis has been a fun part of my life for over 40 years, but after my hand injury, I didn’t think I’d ever play again. After watching and cheering for my team for a year, I finally worked up the grip strength to hold a racket again. I’ll never be as good as I once was… but at 63, is anybody as good as they once were? I’m so happy to be on the courts again, even if my grip slips a bit when I try to stick a volley at the net (and end up hitting a wimpy shot that gets my partner killed, oops). A year ago, if you were to tell me I’d have a 7-2 winning season and my team would win our Spring 2026 flight, I would have never believed you. These days I try to channel my inner Ted Lasso and believe. I’m out here playing the long game. Going the distance.
My daughter had a particularly challenging spring semester at college. On top of difficult coursework, she competed on the lacrosse travel team. After final exams, her grad school application was due while she traveled to play in the lacrosse national playoffs. She called me, overwhelmed and exhausted, in the middle of it all. My advice sounded trite, like a line from the movie “The Help.” Her reply was, “Everyone here is smart. Every girl on the team is good. What if I don’t have what it takes?” I told her to pretend she was at the end of a long race and focus on the finish line. “Sprint — you have to finish strong,” I advised in my tough-loving-parent-cheerleader voice. Dang, I should have told her to listen to Cake.
The next time you feel like giving up, phone a friend. A tough-loving-cheerleader friend can help you reach the finish line of your rat race. Or create a motivational playlist and blast it while you trudge through the tough times. Make sure you include “This Year” by the Mountain Goats. Sing the words loudly as you stomp all over the world, “I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me.” And if you really need a pick-me-up, watch Stephen Colbert pogo to this song on YouTube.
