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S he sat across the table from me--two empty bowls of oatmeal between us--and adjusted her ponytail. She glanced at her suitcases by the door and said she was going to visit her sports psychologist before training at the Olympic Training Center later that day. Brianna spent the night at my house after flying from her coach's track in Florida, but I wouldn't let her leave without oatmeal...maybe it was years of my mother's Puerto Rican guilt and insistence that it's the best breakfast a person could eat. And if someone is headed to the Olympic Center, then by all things holy I WILL STUFF OATMEAL DOWN HER THROAT.
We chatted after her appointment and Brianna sounded like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Ten years, she said, ten years I've been training for this moment and though every step has been a battle, I'm simply going to celebrate I made it this far. At the risk of sounding cliche, Bri is going to the Olympic Trials knowing it's about the journey, not the destination...each battle, not the war.
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| I couldn't help but apply the same principle to my life. How many times have I waited for a big moment to happen--to actually be in it--only to let the memories slip through my hand like sand because I was too worried about the outcome/performance/story/image. Far too many times I've looked back at my life and wished I allowed myself the permission to simply revel. Revel in the impossibilities, in the hard work, in the accomplishment simply for what it is. |
Brianna has a long road ahead of her as she competes at the Olympic Trials this weekend in Eugene, Oregon. A small group of friends will be by her side cheering her on...but, most of all, insisting she revel in being the moment for which she worked so hard. Of course, we hope she earns a spot on the Olympic team headed to London, but for now, we'll simply cheer from the sidelines...and hope she revels. In the moment.
Before we left, I tried explaining to Brianna that if gold medals were given for dancing, I'd be the Michael Phelps of The Robot..so glad JD was on hand to capture me schooling her. |
    
2013
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2012
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2011
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2010
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2009
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2008
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2007
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