Olympics and Life

I love the Olympics, I love watching the athletes competing, especially the swimmers. I feel for them, the nervousness as they wait their turn in the dressing rooms, the controlled excitment as they walk out onto the deck admist the cheering crowd (the people who have come to support and encourage them), the focus as they wait their turn to be announced so they can step up to the blocks, the return of mild nerves as they climb onto the blocks and wait....wait for the "swimmers take your mark, set" (and the wait for what feels like and eternity until the BEEP) and then the total 100% focus as everything else falls away as soon as their finger tips touch the water.There exsists nothing else for them, no recollection of the crowd cheering them on, no thoughts of the last race that they swam (be it good or bad), just a dedicated focus on the water and the stroke and on swimming the best they have ever swam. And then it's over, in many cases in less than a mintue (or shortly there after). That's a whole lot of pressure for something that is over so fast. They are good and the dedication they have to get to that level is incredible!

If only.......sigh.

Can you tell I used to swim? Watching the Olympics I feel excitment and longing and regret. I could have been that good (honestly). I had natural talent and raced through high-school. I don't have many big regrets in life, but one of them is the fact that when given the chance, I choose to not have the dedication and discipline that it takes to be REALLY good (not just talented) I often wonder if things had been different, if I had choosen to swim to win (instead of swim to survive), if that could have been me standing there, waiting for the gun to go off, representing my country. I'll never know and occassionally I long to know, I miss it but, at the same time, I am happy and content with my life and where I am at and know that it is right......sigh.

Life has been busy! We are in the process of moving kids' room around ,which requires a whole lot more organization and planning and sorting...they are all going to be in the rooms in the basement come the end of next week and it's just a matter of making closet room and figuring where the toys are going to go! We are also planning a birthday party and cleaning for my brother and his girlfriend's arrival on Sunday...did I mention that I am excited?!? SO posts might be slim for a few days as life tries to settle! :)