Priorities
Hello all. Greetings from Portugal.
I apologize for the late write up. Internet access is limited and my laptop is almost out of battery...guess who didn't pack an adapter to charge it :)
So today marked the end of day 3. Tomorrow will be a day of rest and then we continue with 3 more days. I have swam the 50, 200 breastroke, 50 free, 50 fly and the 100 free on the 4x100 free relay so far. It has been crazy but I'm so glad it isn't as stressful as it could be. Meets like this go fast so trying to do more than one per day is tough. The last 3 days will be 100 breastroke, 100 fly and 100 breastroke on the 4x100 medley relay.
Tonight was so exciting. The finals were insane. Our ninja (Peggy) beasted the 50 fly and tied for gold. The stands were crazy! THEN the next two girls tied for bronze! Incredible finishes! Our 4x100 free relay finished 4th and broke a 30 year old American Record. That was exciting as well. The boys relay finished 3rd and 3 lucky guys got to celebrate their first medals with meet veteran Marcus Titus. He has collected 4 golds so far and is on his way setting all kinds of wold records here. He is actually getting ready for London 2012 so it has been awesome to be on the team with him.
Our medal count is 5 golds, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes. This is way more than I ever imagined. The look on the Russians and the Ukrainians and Belarusians faces is priceless. In the past there have only been maybe 4 medals won, and usually one person winning them. Now it is an entire team. East Europe doesn't rule the pool this time around. Japan and Italy and Great Britain (friend from back home is actually on their team) have stepped up too. So exciting. But we all have the best time learning to communicate across the double language barriers with any of the teams. While the Euopeans are our fiercest competition in the pool we are at the same hotel and manage to somehow communicate at meals or in the locker room (it takes a good 20 minutes to get a suit on for these races!)
Today I got to know a certain member of our team. He is one of the younger guys and "the ladies man" on deck. Too funny to watch him. But after a disappointing final for myself I sat with him on the bus and started to ask about how he lost his hearing. I knew that he wasn't born deaf like many of us were but recently lost his hearing. He developed an autoimmune disease just a year ago and instantly lost it all. That is the simplified version but I could see how much it hurt for him to share. My loss is progressive. But I have never known what it was like to hear. He lived 15 years hearing and then lost it all. I have learned to adapt, it will take him years to get to where many of the other deaf people are. If anything, I was grateful for him sharing. It put my swim into perspective. Swimming is one thing, life is another. I'm so excited for this opportunity but I value the time to be with others who are in the same boat- to fellowship and laugh and make jokes (or dance when they introduce "lane 6 america") or to sweat and push past lactic acid with them. But sometimes, you have the blessings of sharing your story- His story every once in a while. While I laugh when they call me "team mom" I'm grateful to have the role. The ladies man is going to make it- it will be tough- but he will push on and become more than the man he probably once dreamed.
My battery is about to die but this is the most recent update I can give. There are countless stories and I hope that we can meet up in person to talk. For now, you can get back to your work and I'll get to mine. As much as I want a medal, and as hard as I'm going to work for one- I know that from here on out, there are rewards beyond that. Chris Sligh has a song called "Empty Me" that just kept playing in my head today. It has been humbling to still be the girl without the medal, shaking my pride to see others go the times I know I can do. But sometimes things have to be shaken in order to set your priorities straight. I know who I serve. I know who I represent. So whether or not I have the blessing of hearing our national anthem I have something bigger and that makes all the difference.
I apologize for the late write up. Internet access is limited and my laptop is almost out of battery...guess who didn't pack an adapter to charge it :)
So today marked the end of day 3. Tomorrow will be a day of rest and then we continue with 3 more days. I have swam the 50, 200 breastroke, 50 free, 50 fly and the 100 free on the 4x100 free relay so far. It has been crazy but I'm so glad it isn't as stressful as it could be. Meets like this go fast so trying to do more than one per day is tough. The last 3 days will be 100 breastroke, 100 fly and 100 breastroke on the 4x100 medley relay.
Tonight was so exciting. The finals were insane. Our ninja (Peggy) beasted the 50 fly and tied for gold. The stands were crazy! THEN the next two girls tied for bronze! Incredible finishes! Our 4x100 free relay finished 4th and broke a 30 year old American Record. That was exciting as well. The boys relay finished 3rd and 3 lucky guys got to celebrate their first medals with meet veteran Marcus Titus. He has collected 4 golds so far and is on his way setting all kinds of wold records here. He is actually getting ready for London 2012 so it has been awesome to be on the team with him.
Our medal count is 5 golds, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes. This is way more than I ever imagined. The look on the Russians and the Ukrainians and Belarusians faces is priceless. In the past there have only been maybe 4 medals won, and usually one person winning them. Now it is an entire team. East Europe doesn't rule the pool this time around. Japan and Italy and Great Britain (friend from back home is actually on their team) have stepped up too. So exciting. But we all have the best time learning to communicate across the double language barriers with any of the teams. While the Euopeans are our fiercest competition in the pool we are at the same hotel and manage to somehow communicate at meals or in the locker room (it takes a good 20 minutes to get a suit on for these races!)
Today I got to know a certain member of our team. He is one of the younger guys and "the ladies man" on deck. Too funny to watch him. But after a disappointing final for myself I sat with him on the bus and started to ask about how he lost his hearing. I knew that he wasn't born deaf like many of us were but recently lost his hearing. He developed an autoimmune disease just a year ago and instantly lost it all. That is the simplified version but I could see how much it hurt for him to share. My loss is progressive. But I have never known what it was like to hear. He lived 15 years hearing and then lost it all. I have learned to adapt, it will take him years to get to where many of the other deaf people are. If anything, I was grateful for him sharing. It put my swim into perspective. Swimming is one thing, life is another. I'm so excited for this opportunity but I value the time to be with others who are in the same boat- to fellowship and laugh and make jokes (or dance when they introduce "lane 6 america") or to sweat and push past lactic acid with them. But sometimes, you have the blessings of sharing your story- His story every once in a while. While I laugh when they call me "team mom" I'm grateful to have the role. The ladies man is going to make it- it will be tough- but he will push on and become more than the man he probably once dreamed.
My battery is about to die but this is the most recent update I can give. There are countless stories and I hope that we can meet up in person to talk. For now, you can get back to your work and I'll get to mine. As much as I want a medal, and as hard as I'm going to work for one- I know that from here on out, there are rewards beyond that. Chris Sligh has a song called "Empty Me" that just kept playing in my head today. It has been humbling to still be the girl without the medal, shaking my pride to see others go the times I know I can do. But sometimes things have to be shaken in order to set your priorities straight. I know who I serve. I know who I represent. So whether or not I have the blessing of hearing our national anthem I have something bigger and that makes all the difference.
Thanks for sharing, Jess. You write beautifully and I am thinking about you here in the States. Everyone there is blessed by your sweet and positive attitude. Swim your heart out!!! Love you!!
ReplyDeleteJess, you are such an encourager!!! thanks for hanging in there when most people would give up and quit :) I'm praying for you and your teammates to continue to do well and fight to the finish ;) can't wait to see u soon!!!
ReplyDelete