Tara Tweedie’s Ride For Cancer – The Journey…

 
 

The ride is long, and in the end, it is only with yourself – Baz Luhrmann

 
 

 

“Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasure, and you can create for the world a destiny more sublime that ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer.”  –Sir Walter Scott

I met Tara Tweedie on Sat, 18-07-20 when she came for a consultation and first-time treatment session. The first thing that struck me about Tara was her warm smile, baby face and long legs 😜 

Tara was crazy excited about starting a course of treatments with me, seeing this as time for herself that had been a very long time coming, and loving that she was doing something she had never done before, which was to spend time and money on herself.
You see, Tara had her daughter Kiara when she was just 17 years old and from that point on put her child’s needs first, and focused on being the very best mum she could be.
Tara worked as a pharmacy assistant until Kiara was 8, then took an entry-level job at an insurance company and chiselled out a carrier to be proud of, and that enabled her to provide the life she wanted for her family.
Whilst Tara’s choices in life have been limited, she made sure her daughters never were.
When Kiara was 12, Tara took her backpacking for 12 weeks through Thailand, Cambodia and 3 weeks through Vietnam, and when Kiara was 13 Tara purchased her daughter a horse. Yep, you heard me right, an actual horse, (seriously, what little girls have not at least wanted to own, ride and care for a pony? But Tara got her a real-life racehorse! So Kiara scored big having TaraCat as a Mumma).
Kiara loved horses from an early age. When she was 8 she developed a friendship with an old lady that bred racehorses, the two becoming thick as thieves. And the friendship resulted in Kiara spending most weekends in her company and the eventual purchase of Kiara’s first horse.
Over the years Kiara has thrived, and she has enjoyed experiences such as going to Johannesburg, South Africa when she was 19 to ride there for 6 weeks and then travel through Europe 
Kiara has studied for her Bachelor’s in education and masters of indigenous education. She now works in First National Education in a field she is extremely passionate about and is working to create lasting positive change in the world.
To make her and Kiara’s lives comfortable, much of the time Tara held two jobs, working in hospitality or at the dog kennels, where she and Kiara worked over the years together.
The point is, that Tara is now finding her feet in a world where she is free to look after herself and dive into her own wants and needs.
This can be incredibly difficult. 
Imagine your whole life being about looking after one thing, keeping her safe, secure and the world spinning in which she lived, and then the shining star that you created launches out and into the world, all on her own.
All the work, all the sacrifice, all the worry all the planning, saving….. It’s all good, the pressure is off and the world is your oyster. Wow, that is terrifying.
 One minute of your whole life is about one thing, and now your life can be about anything you want.
It takes time.
Time to learn what you like and who you are. Especially when you’re not used to seeing yourself as a priority.
It is very common for us to hide away from the world when we are feeling off-kilter and unsure of the world, retreat into ourselves and soothe our worries with Netflix, books and simple pleasures until we are ready to come out and see the world as free women in their prime.
Taking on the ‘Ride for Cancer’ for Tara was a way to give back to the world and launch herself as a free and new woman, thirsty for adventure and a taste for every experience.

 

 

On 18-03-33 I received the following email which was requested so Tara could give her own experience of my services, her journey leading up to committing herself to the Ride for Cancer and why she is doing it:

Hellllllooooo Pussycat,
My name is TaraCat and while this post is about my Cancer Fundraiser, it’s so much more, it’s about my journey on how I got brave enough at 46 to sign up for a 200km endurance ride with 0 experience on a road bike.
Jessicat was a big part of my journey. I came to Jessicat’s Medi Spa almost two years ago. To be honest, I felt silly even spending money on my skin. I was 44 then, a shadow of my former self, and I felt like a shell. Felt like my best years were past me, I wasn’t allowed to feel like a real woman, feel sexy or beautiful. But none the less, I had a friend speak highly of Jessicat, and while my friend didn’t do a very good job of explaining the technologies Jessicat uses ( we still laugh about this) she showed me Jessicat’s Facebook page and I was blown away seeing mature age ladies getting amazing results on their skin. And the results looked healthy, not plastic and overdone.
So, my journey with Jessicat began. I still struggled with spending that much time and money on myself, which is crazy, (I earn my own money and answered no one), but I still felt guilty. One other challenge that I would never have foreseen, was my friends and family not understanding the time and effort I put into my skin. I would hear so often; ‘I don’t understand, you look fine for 44, you don’t have many wrinkles.’ Or they would say; ‘You’re crazy, just accept it, we are going to get old and get wrinkles.’
Over the months, I really started to see significate changes in my skin, it was smoother, and my pigmentation had pretty much gone. It actually had a profoundly positive impact on my mental health. I actually started to like what I saw in the mirror. My confidence grew, and I really began to see my self-worth.
Then, last year, I underwent a hysterectomy. I remember getting wheeled into the theatre and being scared. Not only hadn’t I looked after my skin over the years,  I hadn’t looked after my health. I said to myself, I am worth so much more than this, my best years are NOT behind me! So when I recovered, I pledged I would not only continue to look after my skin but my body and mind as well.  
Once I got the all clear after my surgery, I joined a gym and started doing spin classes. Not going to lie, at the start it was hard and it was intimidating. But I just said to myself, just move your legs, even if you can’t keep up with the classes, just being here and moving your legs means you’re already winning. As the weeks went by, (even though it became harder before it got easier) I started to enjoy it more and more. Then it became addictive.
This led to my ride, earlier in the year an email went out looking for volunteers to join the MACA Cancer 200km ride.
While I was a regular spin class participant, I had never been on a road bike and did not own one. I have so many friends and family touched by cancer, so I put my hand up. Or more appropriately, threw me into the deep end.
To date, it’s been quite an experience. I now own a bike and am currently up to 40km per ride. Not going to lie, there have been plenty of times I have felt overwhelmed, and the feeling to give up has been great. But the great thing about this is I have made the pledge!
This is for Cancer, and people have already given me so much support. Some come rain, hail or shine, I will be riding my bike for 200km in October.   
I look forward to sharing my journey with all you pussycats. The challenges I face, not only with training but with nutrition, and how I am managing my face care routine. (I’m already struggling to keep my face well sun screened after hours spent on the bike;)
Kind regards,
Tara Tweedie

 

 

Thank you so much TaraCat for sharing your story with us and I very much look forward to sharing more info about Taras Ride For Cancer adventure.

Jessicat 😻

If you would like to donate to Tara’s Ride For Cancer Fund.

Taras Facebook page

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