Page 147 of Balancing Act

She let the applause settle around her, let the energy of the room seep into her. The cheers, the clinking glasses, the warmthin Beth’s eyes—it was all so good, so much more than she had ever let herself hope for.

But beneath it, there was a quiet undercurrent of her own fears, the ones she was learning to coexist with as she waited for more information.

Her test results.

Somewhere in the next few weeks, a phone call would come. And with it, an answer to the question that lived permanently in her mind. Would her time be up?

For years, fear had been the loudest voice in her head. The what-ifs, the worst-case scenarios, the instinct to run before the ground could be pulled out from under her. Tonight, standing here—with Empwr, with Beth, with every single person who had become a part of this new life she had built—she realized she didn’t have to choose between fear and joy. She could hold both at once.

Because wasn’t that what all of this was? A balance between hope and uncertainty, love and loss, risk and reward.

She could be scared and still let herself be here. Let herself want this, have this, love this—love Beth for as long as she possibly could.

It was Beth’s gaze that steadied her—and the warmth of her hand, reaching for Jamie’s as if it had always belonged there.

Whatever came next, she’d face it.

Beth had once asked her if she was ready to stop running.

She was. And Jamie had never been more sure of anything in her life.

INSTAGRAM POST | NIGHT OF EMPWR LAUNCH

@ijamielyons

Hey. It’s been a while.

Almost eight years, to be exact.

Let me catch you up.

I made the decision to leave the public eye when I was twenty-four.

Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. One minute, I was competing on the world’s biggest stages, and the next, I was being told I had breast cancer. It’s funny—when you spend your entire life training for one thing, building your identity around a singular purpose, you don’t really think about what happens if it all gets taken away. But that’s exactly what happened. Gymnastics was everything to me, and then suddenly, it wasn’t.

So, I did what I thought I had to do. I ran as far away as I could from the world I had grown up in. I told myself I wanted nothing to do with it anymore, that I was done with the system that had chewed me up and spat me out.

It’s taken me a while to come back around, but so many people have reminded me why I fell in love with competitionin the first place. Like Amanda Fitz-Simmons, who reminded me what it meant to be part of a team, even when I wasn’t competing. Like Shannon York, who made me believe in what women’s sports could be if we actually believed in and invested in them. And like Lily Gallagher, who reminded me of the kid I used to be—the one who loved this sport,reallyloved this, before the world told her she had to be perfect.

I fell in love with women’s sports again. This time, not as an athlete, but as someone who wanted to make itbetter—better for the next generation, for all the athletes who come after us. That’s what Empwr is all about. We’re here to invest in the voices and stories and business of women’s sports. We’re here to invest in women—because for too long, the world has treated us like an afterthought. We’re here to build something that lasts for the future of female athletes to enjoy.

So, no matter what, keep investing in women’s sports.

We’ve only just begun to show you what we’re made of.

#Empwr #InvestInWomen #ThisIsJustTheBeginning

EPILOGUE

BETH

Beth adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder as she and Sarah navigated the crowded arena concourse. This was it—the Olympic trials. It was still surreal to think about. Lily—their Lily—competing in the Olympic trials as a hopeful for Team USA.

“We need to stop by the Empwr booth before we head to our seats,” Beth said, scanning the row of vendor tables lining the concourse. “I promised Jamie I’d send her a picture.”

Sarah stifled her small laugh with a cough. “You two text more than teenagers.”

Beth rolled her eyes but smiled. “She’s been running around all morning. It’s my duty as a supportive girlfriend.”