It's always good to end the week on a positive note. Sometimes we concentrate on the negatives. We have a choice. Choose positive. Choose to celebrate. I will be joining Ruth Ayres and her weekly link-up, Celebrate This Week. Check out all the other celebrations HERE
Last weekend we had an amazing, but quick, trip to Colorado Springs. My daughter competed in the Jimi Flowers Classic paralympic swim meet at the Olympic Training Center. She had an amazing meet! Some highlights:
* she had a perfect meet - 9 events, 9 best times!
* she medaled in the 200 back!
* she achieved a time that she's been working towards for awhile
* she had the highest individual points of the meet
In this meet, the athletes are classified swimmers as having a physical disability, being visually impaired, or having a cognitive disability. The majority of swimmers are missing a limb(s) and many have some form of achondroplasia (dwarfism). The training these swimmers put in are no different than their able bodied peers. They have a desire to swim and to perform highly in their sport. It is always awe-inspiring to be a spectator at this event.
I'm pretty sure my daughter was the youngest athlete competing. I laugh because her coaches really want her to start networking and talking to other athletes to get tips and advise on training. My daughter found another girl, around her age, behind the blocks and was talking to her. I asked what did they talk about... I was told they discussed where they were staying, where they were from.... I don't think either of them were too concerned about the technical parts of swimming!
Although we were only there for a few days, and most of them were spent in the aqua arena, we did manage to get a quick hiking trip in at the Garden of the Gods. So beautiful! The clouds were plentiful so we couldn't see the {snowy} top of Pike's Peak, but any mountain scenery is beautiful! Here are some pictures:
That's a proud smile!
When I think back on our trip...
* I'm grateful that our travel was smooth
* I'm thankful we got to spend time enjoying the outdoors
* I'm proud of the hard work the athletes put in at the pool, including my daughter
* I'm happy for the time I got to spend with my family
What a wonderful celebration! Building strong memories as a family. Take advantage of every opportunity little moments are so important later. Thanks for sharing about the swim meet congrats to all the participants.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your daughter for her meet times, Michele. So glad you had a wonderful trip to the Springs. My company came in last weekend, but first spent time there too, & at the Garden of The Gods-gorgeous. Looking forward to meeting you at All-Write!
ReplyDeleteI love the color coded ending. Your daughter's smile says it all. So proud!
ReplyDeleteYAY, YAY, YAY for your daughter! I think it is awesome that she met a new friend at this competition. When you asked what they talked about, I was almost expecting you to say that they were talking about One Direction -- a major topic of discussion for most girls these days! :) I hope I run into you next week at All Write. I would love to meet you!
ReplyDeleteI admire your daughter for the work she puts into swimming and competing! It sounds like it was an amazing journey! Margaret's right!! That smile says it all!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful celebration!! :)
ReplyDeleteMichele, after reading this post, I know why we were meant to be blogging friends. My son was a gold-medal disabled swimmer in the Long Islands Game for the Physically Challenged alt throughout his childhood. His biggest dream was to become a paralympic swimmer. Since that never happened he continues swimming 3-4 miles several times a week at his college pool. As Derek says there is the powerful word able in disabled. Congratulations to your young athlete. May her dreams grow as fast as her swimming times.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip and congratulations to your daughter! I am sure you were beaming with pride! Hope to see you this week!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you all had just a wonderful time. It's great to see our children doing their best and achieving their goals. Congrats.
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