tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69986002914862435552024-03-04T22:14:10.268-07:00Life on the Edge of SkatingAdventures and observations on life from years in the stands but not on the sideline. Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-1067189393907469192021-04-26T12:26:00.002-06:002021-04-26T13:23:26.096-06:00E Pluribus Unum - "Out of Many, One." Remembering Susan Bonn<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-skMP6BLlKa0/YIcA1reYMbI/AAAAAAAAD0M/7ZgLdWl0ywQ4byj5L_NHGDyCjJqA58xwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1022/susan%2Bby%2BLexi%2Bblur.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="1022" height="293" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-skMP6BLlKa0/YIcA1reYMbI/AAAAAAAAD0M/7ZgLdWl0ywQ4byj5L_NHGDyCjJqA58xwQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h293/susan%2Bby%2BLexi%2Bblur.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Lexi Rohner</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Out of Many, One</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">Out of </b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">so </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">many</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> wonderful friends in our tight-knit world of
figure skating, there was </span><b style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;">one</b><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"> who affected my thinking about all things ice and
beyond myself and my little corner of the skating world. Susan Bonn was a
guiding light who brought together people from all walks of life for one of her
many purposes on this planet. Whether it was her passion for the creative art
of paper flowers, her passion for her friends and family, or her passion for
the art and sport of figure skating, she was the one we looked up to as the
supernova in our stratospheres.</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Out of many</b> years in this sport, I’m hard pressed to remember exactly when I met Susan. It may have been in Cleveland in 2009 or Spokane in 2010. But the first <b>one</b> that clearly comes to mind was that next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Out of many</b> glasses of wine over the many years of attending
competitions together, I remember <b>one</b> in particular in Greensboro. It was 2011
and the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the plane crash that killed our US Team
on their way to Prague for Worlds in 1961. As busy as she was, Susan found me
in the overcrowded room, gave me a kiss and said, “Thank you for being here,”
as if my presence among the multitudes of honorees and officials was something
of which to take note. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l8adsOHxeZU/YIb6XQ55BiI/AAAAAAAADzU/TiZ-rfHTI8UFF5DjtPqTWqgK-hTKSeh7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/Skate%2BAmerica%2B2014.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l8adsOHxeZU/YIb6XQ55BiI/AAAAAAAADzU/TiZ-rfHTI8UFF5DjtPqTWqgK-hTKSeh7wCLcBGAsYHQ/w150-h200/Skate%2BAmerica%2B2014.JPG" width="150" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><br />Out of many</b>, <b>one</b> of the other times was at Skate America in 2014. I was using a cane after doing something to my knee. Though my memory
is sketchy, Susan had just gone through something with her back. We joked about
“getting older.” <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But, <b>out of many</b>, <b>one</b> of the most impactful memories I have
was the time Susan asked my husband and me to speak to Friends of Figure
Skating members in 2014 – Olympic Nationals in Boston - about our experiences
as skating parents. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l9KZINKuYyM/YIcDoxCySwI/AAAAAAAAD0U/hemi3PJbUykJjqXqPCwHavsNN9EB47p0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/Nationals%2B2014.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="960" height="143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l9KZINKuYyM/YIcDoxCySwI/AAAAAAAAD0U/hemi3PJbUykJjqXqPCwHavsNN9EB47p0gCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h143/Nationals%2B2014.JPG" width="200" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Actually, whatever Susan asked me to do, I gladly did. She
was that kind of irrepressible force for this occasionally immovable object.
Afterwards, a package arrived at our home. It was a beautifully engraved
cutting board inscribed with our names and a thank you on the back. It
was totally unexpected. It was a treasure then and is a poignant reminder now - not only of her, but of spirit and graciousness. <o:p></o:p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vIO6zoScfTE/YIb6zZA_KhI/AAAAAAAADzg/re50zwfbToktBmavljpZr0XUv4qJ3JUvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2B954967-9DD4-4341-9681-B4761AFB9AA9.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vIO6zoScfTE/YIb6zZA_KhI/AAAAAAAADzg/re50zwfbToktBmavljpZr0XUv4qJ3JUvQCLcBGAsYHQ/w283-h283/2B954967-9DD4-4341-9681-B4761AFB9AA9.jpg" width="283" /></a></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">We saw one another every year at Nationals, whether it was
just a quick hug in passing, or longer events like Memorial Fund, Hall of Fame
and Friends of Figure Skating. Spending any amount of time with Susan was
always a highlight of my trips. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We all missed the opportunity to be together in 2020 with
the pandemic, but plans were in the works for a grand reunion. Just weeks ago,
we were messaging back and forth about the upcoming US National Championships
in Nashville. More than simply being where the 2022 Olympic Team will be named,
it was more about finally being able to get everyone together again under one
roof to once again share our love of a sport that has brought us so much. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Out of many</b> memories I have from all these years, the <b>one</b>
thing for which I am most grateful - besides her unwavering friendship - is
that Susan brought me an on-going dedication to helping support our athletes in
every way possible. Her enthusiasm was contagious; her focus unwavering. Her dedication
unquestionable. What a gift she shared with us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is a hole in our hearts right now. It will be there
for a long time to come. But we will take the lessons Susan taught us and move
them forward with the devotion and passion that were her trademarks. While we
will not be privileged to bask in her enormous presence, see that smile and
twinkle in her eye, or hear that always present laugh, we will know she’s there
with us. She will always be there because Susan brought so many of us with her on
this journey. <b>Out of </b>the <b>many</b> she touched, there will always be <b>one</b> light that
will not be extinguished. It shines on all of us from having had Susan in our lives. She was one in a million.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rest well, my friend. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8VDHlvJCIvQ/YIb7_J3kI5I/AAAAAAAADz8/L48rKZokb0Q_9mzPgg4CizeS9F3D2GZJACLcBGAsYHQ/s440/e%2Bpluribus%2Bunim.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="440" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8VDHlvJCIvQ/YIb7_J3kI5I/AAAAAAAADz8/L48rKZokb0Q_9mzPgg4CizeS9F3D2GZJACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/e%2Bpluribus%2Bunim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-456732469907620862020-12-27T17:11:00.057-07:002020-12-28T08:07:06.200-07:00An Open Letter to 2020: Things I Learned That I Didn't Know I Needed<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XI6vHKA5Z8w/V_47kh39YMI/AAAAAAAADMc/UK1Ct10ljKkF4qMcfuHAMFGdfbR8aegVQCPcBGAYYCw/s400/taking-notes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="388" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XI6vHKA5Z8w/V_47kh39YMI/AAAAAAAADMc/UK1Ct10ljKkF4qMcfuHAMFGdfbR8aegVQCPcBGAYYCw/w194-h200/taking-notes.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: large;"><b>Dear 2020: </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No sense in rehashing what you wrought in this universally challenging year. Volumes will be written by those much better equipped than I. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, on my part there have been some personal revelations,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> life lessons, and some things I needed to be reminded of, that are worth chronicling here. I'll just call them personal observations and lessons learned. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are a few of the highlights:</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Having a somewhat perverse sense of humor is a survival skill.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A commitment to a healthy diet is a survival skill. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pilates classes with my daughter on Zoom are a great idea on so many levels. It's also a survival skill. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Housebound exercise on YouTube is...housebound exercise on YouTube, no matter which way you slice it and I'm not sure I'd classify it a survival skill <i>(but you could have done better with some of those videos, really). </i></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Outdoor exercise, almost no matter what the weather, is a survival skill.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Zoom volunteer committee meetings lasting longer than an hour is a survival skill that requires a strong constitution, something that's occasionally lacking at my age. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Zoom family calls are an essential survival skill that can be extremely funny and sometimes incredibly awkward. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Memes created in your honor have helped many of us survive, while reassuring me I'm not alone in my twisted sense of humor.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Working on a new project with my husband without needing bail money (most of the time) is the epitome of survival skills.</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the category of lessons learned, there are these revelations : <br /></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have way too many pairs of black leggings.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't have any shoes other than slippers, sneakers, snow and hiking boots, and a single pair of flipflops.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I need more soft sweaters because I've reached the point where I want to burn the ones I have.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I hate bras. <i><b>(</b></i></span><i><b>I really hate bras.)</b></i></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have socks in my drawer that actually match only because I'm not wearing them.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have socks in my drawer that are older than my youngest child - and possibly my oldest.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I know everywhere that Mike and Frank have visited over the past 17 seasons of "American Pickers," and I can now identify motorcycle parts in a pile of junk buried in my neighbor's backyard (don't ask).</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The people on my mother's side of the family were hoarders, and my mother never threw away anything, including but not limited to: pocket calendar style address books dating back to 1946; bank statements going back to the 1950s, ephemera of all shapes, sizes and unknown origins pertaining to who-knows-what, and old love letters that dated back to before I was born. I'm sure she didn't even remember they still existed, mixed among the aforementioned papers. They definitely fell into the TMI category, and she would have been mortified to know that I had unwittingly perused them.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have large plastic containers filled to the brim with several generations of family photos - including unidentified trees, people, flowers and feet.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are literally no scrapbooks large enough for 32 years of competitive skating memorabilia.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not all old VHS tapes of non-qualifying competitions - currently filling six packing boxes - are "keepers."<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cassette tapes of old programs dating back to the early 1990s do not need to be displayed, played - or kept, for that matter. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's okay to go minimalist. But when in doubt, send a photo to the kids to see if they want it first. I've been out of the mindreading business far too long and I'm woefully out of practice.</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, the most important thing I learned from you, 2020, is to be present. You reminded me to be there for people; to help where I could; to counsel if asked, and to <b>shut up and listen</b> when it was truly needed. You also reminded me the importance of saying "I'm sorry," and "thank you," because both are worth their weight in gold.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As I get ready to fling open our windows and doors to guide you "gently" out and cautiously welcome 2021, I really need to prepare. There is so much ahead; so much to do. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'm stronger, and hopefully wiser, because of you, 2020. Your lessons were not wasted on me, and you will not be forgotten. I have a very long memory.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: large;"><b>Yours Truly.</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UJPBZPqM0b0/T4mX8pbOeKI/AAAAAAAACPE/pMHZQXFrPT8WVCnWbexb7ws42QBK2daTwCPcBGAYYCw/s126/28723_125967610749749_125893740757136_314722_8256317_s.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="123" data-original-width="126" height="313" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UJPBZPqM0b0/T4mX8pbOeKI/AAAAAAAACPE/pMHZQXFrPT8WVCnWbexb7ws42QBK2daTwCPcBGAYYCw/w320-h313/28723_125967610749749_125893740757136_314722_8256317_s.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-12385691645975457852020-10-19T17:54:00.005-06:002020-10-21T08:22:41.623-06:00Pure Imagination: Part II<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C-NSQasLwzQ/X44VG_c44CI/AAAAAAAADuQ/okn772Ofk7sexezkPyO_Wk113NZijVXoACLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/IMG-4098.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C-NSQasLwzQ/X44VG_c44CI/AAAAAAAADuQ/okn772Ofk7sexezkPyO_Wk113NZijVXoACLcBGAsYHQ/w240-h320/IMG-4098.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Like almost everyone I know, my hope was that pure imagination of what a season could be would give way to actual competition as 2020 came careening around the corner to hopefully a hard stop. Unfortunately, it was not to be. COVID continues to rock our rinks, upending the 2020-21 season and forcing us to find new ways to experience skating. At this writing, the Grand Prix season is all but decimated. Skate America is happening in what's being called The Bubble at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. In lieu of an enthusiastic audience, many of us chose to do virtual appearances via cardboard cutouts, the proceeds of which benefit the USFS Memorial Fund. It's the next best thing to being there, I suppose. I can't complain about having a front row seat for the entire competition for my donation, however. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V-ihFMn8yOU/X5BDFMiCQNI/AAAAAAAADvQ/zbc4kN7p86oJyJO5bS4LR0GIu3gqXhXeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s683/SK8A%2Bpic2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="627" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V-ihFMn8yOU/X5BDFMiCQNI/AAAAAAAADvQ/zbc4kN7p86oJyJO5bS4LR0GIu3gqXhXeQCLcBGAsYHQ/w368-h400/SK8A%2Bpic2020.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">📷 by Zach Donohue at Orleans Arena Las Vegas Skate America 2020</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Of course, nothing can truly replace the roar of the crowd, the flash of sequins, the thrill of victory and the abject agony of the Kiss & Cry when you're sitting there with your friends and skating family. It is what we live for each season.</span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So with this in mind, I contacted my co-author, Master Jack, and asked him to elaborate on what skating might be like in the future - say 100 years from now. Having touched on this in <span style="background-color: #fcff01;"><a href="https://ontheedgeofskating.blogspot.com/2020/07/pure-imagination.html" target="_blank">Part I of our blog</a>,</span> my young friend sent me a further explanation of how he sees equipment evolving. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h7qrKtnoLgc/X44iwBgVVmI/AAAAAAAADu0/VbH87c_IHPoEqZYcYoW3IIUMBHBaJ6XeACLcBGAsYHQ/s1211/IMG-4100.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1211" data-original-width="908" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h7qrKtnoLgc/X44iwBgVVmI/AAAAAAAADu0/VbH87c_IHPoEqZYcYoW3IIUMBHBaJ6XeACLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG-4100.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have no doubt that some forward-thinking boot and blade companies will take note. Some of these ideas are already being incorporated to a much more modest degree than Master Jack envisions. But it is only 2020, after all. Who knows what the future holds for those who dare to dream. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MVxV8-ARYZ4/X44liEBQP6I/AAAAAAAADvA/1-uoS2lVxEAK1Ig51VDwynRzh_vMakg9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s368/Jack%2Bdream.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MVxV8-ARYZ4/X44liEBQP6I/AAAAAAAADvA/1-uoS2lVxEAK1Ig51VDwynRzh_vMakg9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jack%2Bdream.jpg" /></a></div><br /> </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><br /><p></p>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-69232029531759347112020-08-29T15:26:00.012-06:002020-08-30T14:07:09.555-06:00Virtual Reality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmxh_j0Re7bN8EL3E5Gwjdly07J3MSSXbGHf9C5yd70eNY9O_aQEKgc8gM0i_4EFvJsnQQqpMk-Z9UDCOLT2MRF0KtC4Jgk0IkqTcGLJBlZCk2c1KDsYARWqvqplTQ94w8H3sbE20HNE/s300/steam.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmxh_j0Re7bN8EL3E5Gwjdly07J3MSSXbGHf9C5yd70eNY9O_aQEKgc8gM0i_4EFvJsnQQqpMk-Z9UDCOLT2MRF0KtC4Jgk0IkqTcGLJBlZCk2c1KDsYARWqvqplTQ94w8H3sbE20HNE/s0/steam.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">received</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> a call the other day from the mom of a young skater who was about to have her first shot at making Nationals in Junior Ladies. The mom was frantic because of the new competition structure put in place for the 2020 season due to the continuing pandemic. </span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"How can they DO this to us? It just isn't fair! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's not what we were expecting</span>."</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well, 2020 wasn't what we we were expecting. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Remember when we wished 2019 would just go away? I don't know about you, but 2019 is looking pretty darn good right now. </span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="566" height="104" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRR11pnTSQM/X0q7Syd687I/AAAAAAAADtY/DYzud1LGeKUGP2Kv2vLKGO4mHLLmfG9PQCLcBGAsYHQ/w186-h104/2019.JPG" width="186" /></i></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I didn't really have an answer for this mom, other than to tell her that unprecedented times call for unexpected changes. <i>Trite, I know, but it was the best I could do on short notice and being put on the spot.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What I wanted to say to her, I'll say to all of you. Skating is a sport. Full stop. The fact that any skaters at all are getting back on the ice in the midst of a disease that has been ravaging people in countries around the world is kind of a flipping, lutzing, miracle. If you get any semblance of a truncated season, consider yourself one of the lucky few. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2020 obviously hasn't come with a book of instructions. The pages are being written - and rewritten - nearly by the hour as things continue to evolve. There are no norms. There is no normal. It's a "Lewis and Clark" moment where every step is being mapped for the first time, in real time.</span></p><p><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmMduaADlvs/X0q72b3g_pI/AAAAAAAADtk/FaYFKhvD6PAAhqlkGJtLJa6YtIGgURzDACPcBGAYYCw/s387/Broken%2Bwindow.JPG" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; font-family: verdana; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="261" height="158" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FmMduaADlvs/X0q72b3g_pI/AAAAAAAADtk/FaYFKhvD6PAAhqlkGJtLJa6YtIGgURzDACPcBGAYYCw/w107-h158/Broken%2Bwindow.JPG" width="107" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other side is that there are groups of people in our skating world who are working their axels off to make something - anything - happen in order to salvage something looking like a season. From the local clubs to our national governing body to even the ISU, no idea is off the table, as long as it first takes into account the health and safety of everyone involved, from skaters and their fa</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">milies to </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">coaches, officials and - yes - fans. Unlike other times in our sport's </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">history, right now the wheel is not being recreated, it's been thrown out the window. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am not privy to any insider competition information. I'm just sitting here in front of my computer trying to make sense of it all. What I do know is that I've seen the fierce dedication of coaches and choreographers who have been finding new ways to keep skaters enthusiastic and engaged through on line classes via Zoom. What I do know is that the Peggy Fleming Trophy competition in June may have been that invaluable "scout" for our expedition into the unknown. Also, what I know because of my involvement with my husband's new podcast venture, is that musicians are exploring new platforms with no signal delay so that they can gather together virtually and play together in real time. All kinds of new technology is being tested daily; some of it may even be applicable to having competitions in real time. Logistically, it would be incredibly challenging from an organizational and technical standpoint - and fraught with possible pitfalls - but it is doable. As we've said in this household for an entire skating career, "Anything is possible. Pigs Can Fly."</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llwQ3ix3GWM/TO0i1LFNv3I/AAAAAAAAAh8/W1onJ22HmJUGW9Ewsacc5Awaem8zE5xQgCPcBGAYYCw/s162/Flying%2BPig%2BLogo.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="162" height="123" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llwQ3ix3GWM/TO0i1LFNv3I/AAAAAAAAAh8/W1onJ22HmJUGW9Ewsacc5Awaem8zE5xQgCPcBGAYYCw/w130-h123/Flying%2BPig%2BLogo.jpg" width="130" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The most important thing you can do right now is to be patient. You probably have a lot of things to worry about that are infinitely more important. If your kid is able to be on the ice and have some sense of "normal," be grateful. If you're an adult skater and back on the ice, you're already grateful. I know; I see your posts on Facebook and Instagram. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Most of all, try to keep perspective. Nothing can truly replace being there live and in person for a competition, but that may be our virtual reality this season. We simply don't know. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As one of my favorite bosses told me years ago, "You can't hold back the ocean." </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gj1W_W45_64/X0rGu-1o5QI/AAAAAAAADts/VjqmlIVAdJEuT9JL50-qz1ieTPdjl_FCACLcBGAsYHQ/s747/go%2Bwith%2Bthe%2Bflow.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="641" height="262" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gj1W_W45_64/X0rGu-1o5QI/AAAAAAAADts/VjqmlIVAdJEuT9JL50-qz1ieTPdjl_FCACLcBGAsYHQ/w225-h262/go%2Bwith%2Bthe%2Bflow.JPG" width="225" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-40195432492315670942020-07-18T16:24:00.000-06:002020-07-19T12:59:39.199-06:00Pure Imagination <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ba80ZIHnNum-7CQhLTg6q2p2-fxzf8B4KH_IgKcwZEktvrQ4PzLS2z-QvRHyOEMCYPd3BFzX1egiHprCjhmZ7a4L8xm-jdOWTB3-JwBRJwcYt5Har5RpAq87H01PgVltSk5tF9fTN1E/s1600/83322020_10221422656700284_6324361333592555520_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9ba80ZIHnNum-7CQhLTg6q2p2-fxzf8B4KH_IgKcwZEktvrQ4PzLS2z-QvRHyOEMCYPd3BFzX1egiHprCjhmZ7a4L8xm-jdOWTB3-JwBRJwcYt5Har5RpAq87H01PgVltSk5tF9fTN1E/s320/83322020_10221422656700284_6324361333592555520_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have a wonderful young friend. He is nine years old with an amazing shock of curly red hair. He's creative, funny and fun, and he just happens to be a skater who is competing Freestyle 2 and whose favorite jump is Salchow. He calls me "Mrs. Allison" because he's polite like that. I call him "Master Jack." </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogEqx1Q54cGfLzQFXjDbrtSFO13_VoP-1e_05ywjY9_UjPmrxir625Z68UmnsGUIN42uyzs7PZR2Mlao3nOOmSeJ1l_6E4bsplw4G48kgYoqG0BWIjDngwYi4oIMNL5S-5Tg4SM4qDKE/s1600/IMG-1872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="559" data-original-width="750" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogEqx1Q54cGfLzQFXjDbrtSFO13_VoP-1e_05ywjY9_UjPmrxir625Z68UmnsGUIN42uyzs7PZR2Mlao3nOOmSeJ1l_6E4bsplw4G48kgYoqG0BWIjDngwYi4oIMNL5S-5Tg4SM4qDKE/s200/IMG-1872.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We got to spend some quality time together at the 2020 US Figure Skating National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina this past January - what now, in this time of pandemic, seems like a lifetime ago. Jack got to meet some of his favorite senior level skaters, like Madison Hubbell (you cannot fault his good taste), as well as Nathan Chen, among many others over the course of the weekend. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jyPkJMF3PYU/XxNr06Bu5II/AAAAAAAADsE/36mG4aFVVdYl-AvMwFbQIKmn-PHf92nhACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_1865%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1125" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jyPkJMF3PYU/XxNr06Bu5II/AAAAAAAADsE/36mG4aFVVdYl-AvMwFbQIKmn-PHf92nhACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/IMG_1865%25282%2529.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He sat in the stands absolutely transfixed, watching every edge and every nuance. He was absorbing it all like a sponge; I was impressed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One day, on the way to the arena, Jack and I were talking about what skating might look like in the future - not in the near term, but a hundred years from now. Jack pondered my question, came up with a few ideas and then we both promptly forgot amidst the excitement of all that was going on around us. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKFqgx0Z2p0/XxNsKYS4V_I/AAAAAAAADsQ/J3gesZdzVIgPHG324CtIYpXR-Vd2YihNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/83436406_10221490440520463_4261286518947053568_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NKFqgx0Z2p0/XxNsKYS4V_I/AAAAAAAADsQ/J3gesZdzVIgPHG324CtIYpXR-Vd2YihNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/83436406_10221490440520463_4261286518947053568_o.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Enter COVID-19 that turned our worlds upside down. Like all kids, Jack was coping with school at home, not being able to see his friends and not being able to skate. I sent Jack a letter with words of encouragement; in return, he sent me a lovely letter written in his best cursive. We were now officially Pen Pals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Recently, Jack's been skating again on limited sessions, like just about all the skaters who have rinks that have been able to open. In chatting with his mom, I remembered Jack's and my conversation and I asked if he would be willing to use his creative talents to tell me, in words and artwork, what he thought skating in 2120 might look like.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Master Jack gladly responded with his insights:</span><br />
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<i>"I think in 100 years, skating will have septuple axels and
salchows. </i></div>
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<i>There will lifts in pairs where the male jumps in the air while
lifting his partner. </i><i>For costumes, I think ladies will be able to wear two piece costumes and boys will be able to wear shorts. </i></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KdbWA4oCj4w/XxNsw7VddTI/AAAAAAAADsY/0IF4_e0qjigyejKj87iGyDEsc7tuCi2vACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-1864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1163" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KdbWA4oCj4w/XxNsw7VddTI/AAAAAAAADsY/0IF4_e0qjigyejKj87iGyDEsc7tuCi2vACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-1864.JPG" width="206" /></a></div>
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<i>In dance, I think
there will little rockets on the back of their skates to make them go even
faster. </i></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gl0fmL-FR2E/XxNs5ZeWfYI/AAAAAAAADsc/9LDT166z-aEZnjlWyiN6HfSMGs-8xlANgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-1863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1129" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gl0fmL-FR2E/XxNs5ZeWfYI/AAAAAAAADsc/9LDT166z-aEZnjlWyiN6HfSMGs-8xlANgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-1863.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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<i>Possibly back flips will be
allowed in competition. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>For all skaters, I think they will have the ability to have
fireworks coming out of their skates. I think we will be able to have all
events in outside arenas where the temperature is controlled. There will be fireworks during every event,
and the fireworks are what will play the program music."<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEGqmjMjQuY/XxNtBF28tMI/AAAAAAAADsk/gk8fbsNhQrwQY86eLpe6c48KJ8p7DEvoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-1859%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="750" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEGqmjMjQuY/XxNtBF28tMI/AAAAAAAADsk/gk8fbsNhQrwQY86eLpe6c48KJ8p7DEvoQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-1859%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I won't be around to see if Jack's predictions come true, but somehow I don't think he's that far off. At least I hope not. Because what comes from the pure imagination of a child is often our future. I certainly hope so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>July 17, U.S. Figure Skating did something remarkable. In
the midst of the continuing pandemic, they brought us skating again - and hope
- by presenting the first virtual competition ever attempted: <a href="https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/sports/2020/7/13/third-annual-peggy-fleming-trophy-virtual-competition.aspx" target="_blank">The Peggy Fleming Trophy.</a> It wasn't live, but it was
skating - and a glimpse into what our future may be, at least for awhile. With so
many lows of late, it was something that got us all excited about how today's technology could bring us back together via watch parties, Twitter and
Facebook, to enjoy and critique this very unique event. It took a lot of work, imagination, and skaters willing to put themselves out there in front of a virtual judging panel with just a scant few weeks of training after being off the ice for months. They became the Alpha adopters - the vanguard of what skating might become. There were no fireworks (though there may have been a few rockets on skates involved for some of the competitors), but this new world was something we certainly wouldn't have predicted ...just like my buddy Master Jack's vision for the future. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>You know, he may be on to something.</i></span></div>
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<br />Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-29458630677141650482020-06-22T14:54:00.001-06:002020-06-23T06:15:22.150-06:00What Matters Most - Life In The Time of COVID-19<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I072YeQiteI/XvENeDflxSI/AAAAAAAADqE/lbRF5oL2W7MWCXDwR262w_u9KpTKJXcOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/USFS%2Bmasks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="846" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I072YeQiteI/XvENeDflxSI/AAAAAAAADqE/lbRF5oL2W7MWCXDwR262w_u9KpTKJXcOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/USFS%2Bmasks.JPG" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo courtesy US Figure Skating.<br />Purchase of masks helps support Memorial Fund.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's been more than a year since I did a blog. I thought I was done, but apparently I can't escape - particularly when life has dealt us challenges unlike we've ever experienced before. If we survive this, let's hope none of us - in whatever time we have left on this "mortal coil" - will ever have to experience anything like it again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Which brings me to this new musing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There's a new <a href="https://ontheedgeofskating.blogspot.com/2009/10/darth-vader-dragon-lady-and-maytag.html" target="_blank">"normal" </a>now that's a bit different than the one I talked about in 2009 when I first started sharing my thoughts about life on the edge of skating, though some things seem to never change. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Like the mysteries of giving birth for the first time, this chapter that's unfolding before us does not come with a set of clear instructions. We read, watch and listen to experts, but then we are pretty much left to figure it out for ourselves. The phrase, "We're all in this together," while true in the universal sense, sometimes seems awkward and discomforting during a pandemic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I could go on with a diatribe, but we're all doing that in our own personal-planet lives. This is meant to be an observation of what seems to be happening in our molecular world of ice, and how we might be able to apply it to the bigger picture of life on a decidedly different edge. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UmTt9GjXUBY/XvERXgVejbI/AAAAAAAADqQ/ualeVeJEjIM15DnQZ2ebFWByaPo-c8jWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/empty%2Bice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="536" height="177" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UmTt9GjXUBY/XvERXgVejbI/AAAAAAAADqQ/ualeVeJEjIM15DnQZ2ebFWByaPo-c8jWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/empty%2Bice.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Like virtually everything, skating came to a hard stop in late February or early March, depending on where you live on this planet. What was promising to be an exciting third year of the quadrennial cycle leading up to the 2022 Olympics evaporated in a nanosecond. The ice was figuratively, and literally, pulled out from under us, leaving nowhere to turn. People were frozen in strange places, many far away from home. Some found solace through sheltering in place with friends, becoming unwitting roommates for more than three months. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Most found themselves alone with their thoughts and fears; forced to examine themselves in a way they may never have done before. </span><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">“It was the </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">best of times, it was the worst of times</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,” </span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">~ Charles Dickens. <i>Tale of Two Cities </i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Winter of despair? Definitely. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Spring of hope? Nope. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Summer of enlightenment? Stay tuned.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTd2pvv2i2s/SvuOuVCw-kI/AAAAAAAADYA/xbxnmxeAGN01pfcGP3H6UuuZC8OrLDVAACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/chorus_line__1221560316_3542-1%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="491" height="121" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wTd2pvv2i2s/SvuOuVCw-kI/AAAAAAAADYA/xbxnmxeAGN01pfcGP3H6UuuZC8OrLDVAACPcBGAYYCw/s200/chorus_line__1221560316_3542-1%2Bcopy.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The encouraging thing is that we're a resilient lot.
Brilliant and resourceful, coaches, clubs, skaters, choreographers,
contemporary and ballet dancers, and personal trainers discovered Zoom as a way
to further development, and to keep enthusiasm from waning in the face of - well - no faces or
places to train. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A massive disadvantage suddenly became an unexpected boon to
learn from people they would rarely, if ever, have a chance to access during day-to-day
training preparation. Those who had the resources and willingness to take a new
path, found a brave new world - and a way to stay connected.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jrxxj9ynUdI/Svj3OZnKcFI/AAAAAAAAAEE/rswZhQlPJJ0uq-DTW28i6m6d2viydzbegCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/HorizonC1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jrxxj9ynUdI/Svj3OZnKcFI/AAAAAAAAAEE/rswZhQlPJJ0uq-DTW28i6m6d2viydzbegCPcBGAYYCw/s200/HorizonC1024.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now, with rinks in our 50 seemingly different and individual country-states here in the U.S. starting to sputter to a start - and with the future of a season still uncharted but most likely unexplored territory - it is incumbent on all of us to step up, and back, to take a bird's eye look at the horizon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As a parent of a now-professional skater and choreographer, my goal is laser focused: to love unconditionally and non-judgmentally; to be there to bolster and encourage. By truly listening, we came to the realization that our bottom line hasn't changed; the love of what's been our lives for more than 32 years is still there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But like all love, it's challenging us to find new paths. Being able to navigate the changes, being flexible, encouraging and supportive is the foundation of the "emotional home," the safe place we spent years constructing in this sport. Sharing that has been the greatest gift.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Life in the time of COVID-19 is allowing all of us to continue to build to our strengths, and make sure we supply a solid foundation. Our greatest challenge isn't having to wear masks - or possibly not having a "normal" skating season. Frankly, that's the least important out of all this. What's important is staying on firm, supportive ground and not sinking into a mire of mental quicksand. That's our newest test. That's how we'll survive, and thrive until we find our footing again. Just being there and present is truly what matters most. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H1xk9bEmVOE/XvEUYMY6HDI/AAAAAAAADqc/a9iRlgHsVdQnA_QgOoe95Gu_vkWcc4YUACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/house%2Bof%2Blove.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="655" height="197" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H1xk9bEmVOE/XvEUYMY6HDI/AAAAAAAADqc/a9iRlgHsVdQnA_QgOoe95Gu_vkWcc4YUACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/house%2Bof%2Blove.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-20093343125571526382019-02-02T15:56:00.000-07:002019-03-12T11:41:23.166-06:00WHAT'S IN A NAME: Revisiting that Question 10 Years Later<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="275" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qhrljJHAOzM/StKBo1cImYI/AAAAAAAAAC8/hsnxFojbFSAEJAa1ZijxO163_neYveOVwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/hello%2Bmy%2Bname%2Bis.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Ten years ago, I wrote<span style="color: red;"> <a href="https://ontheedgeofskating.blogspot.com/2009/10/musing-whats-in-name.html" style="background-color: yellow;" target="_blank">this blog about my alter-ego</a></span><span style="background-color: yellow;">, </span>my other persona; what was - and still is - my other name in the skating world. I had cause to revisit this last week at the US National Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. It got me thinking.</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c_CjDsE_K64/XFYF5xNPdSI/AAAAAAAADe0/nxNp3C80ADgVyTcRndUXjx-MzBOn_e8WgCLcBGAs/s1600/50813629_10218217813261201_6656765529988005888_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="960" height="196" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c_CjDsE_K64/XFYF5xNPdSI/AAAAAAAADe0/nxNp3C80ADgVyTcRndUXjx-MzBOn_e8WgCLcBGAs/s320/50813629_10218217813261201_6656765529988005888_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7zp2JkWQkN8/XFYIy78wGrI/AAAAAAAADfs/ToStGD-T_ck67dX6TaGds9bpEubFDGJNACLcBGAs/s1600/50868924_10218212257642314_7973761077429141504_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7zp2JkWQkN8/XFYIy78wGrI/AAAAAAAADfs/ToStGD-T_ck67dX6TaGds9bpEubFDGJNACLcBGAs/s200/50868924_10218212257642314_7973761077429141504_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skate to Eliminate Cancer at <br />
Campus Martius Park, Detroit</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As you know, my son is no longer competing. However, he had a lot to do, both on and off the ice, since Detroit has been his home-away-from-home for 10 years now. When I couldn't be with him, I found myself watching him on the Jumbotron, at the Ice Desk, and also on the ice during Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as at a Scott Hamilton "Skate to Eliminate Cancer" event held outdoors at Campus Martius park in the heart of downtown.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I went to Nationals, not only to spend a little bit of time with him, but to be with my skating friends for our annual "family reunion." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, after all these years, and all but one Nationals since 2003, I'm fairly well-known around the concourse, in restaurants, and sometimes in the ladies room lines. However in our skating world, I'm not always known as Allison Scott, the now-retired PR professional, blogger, US Figure Skating volunteer for Friends of Figure Skating and Memorial Fund events and 29 year skate parent. In this circle of friends and fans, I still take on my other identity. Like Clark Kent goes into a phone booth, turns around twice and comes out dressed as Superman ready to take on the world, I walk into an arena, turn around twice(usually because I've immediately lost the people I came in with) and become "Jeremy's mom." People I've known for years often times can't remember my given name. I get hugs and the first question is "How's your son? Is he here?" The second thing is usually an enthusiastic - and occasionally awkward - introduction to friends. "I'd like you to meet my friend Jeremy's mom." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No joke. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I then have to say something like, "Hi, I'm Allison Scott. So nice to meet you." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I bring this up because I have been around a long time, and I have had a fulfilling professional career in public relations. But what concerns me is that I see so many parents, whether they work outside or as a stay-at-home parent, lose their own identity along the way in this sport. It's always wonderful to be identified with your child, and that recognition as a parent of your skater is -hopefully - positive. But don't let it be the only thing that defines you. </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wh-nPpeTa9g/XFYXNA7kqQI/AAAAAAAADgE/sj5tMvaRRCsTSKRcoWnFSTHKAFYsUAEwQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0436%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wh-nPpeTa9g/XFYXNA7kqQI/AAAAAAAADgE/sj5tMvaRRCsTSKRcoWnFSTHKAFYsUAEwQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0436%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">There is a saying by Horace Greeley that goes, "Fame is a vapor, popularity is an accident, riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">Make sure you remember who you are. Your kids will always remember who you are.</span></div>
Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-71932937701990485242019-01-09T13:52:00.002-07:002019-01-09T14:37:29.288-07:00Facing Your Fears - Part 3: On The Edge of Glory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--WUIkVPThwM/T4mQL1efAfI/AAAAAAAAA70/05GkY7jY_IscrNokf40QeGmtCfbz_SvlACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/believeyoucan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="450" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--WUIkVPThwM/T4mQL1efAfI/AAAAAAAAA70/05GkY7jY_IscrNokf40QeGmtCfbz_SvlACPcBGAYYCw/s320/believeyoucan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Between my last post and this one, I managed to have Christmas and New Year's all in one day with almost all my family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh, and I also retired. There's that, too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One day last week, when the weather was lovely and the sun warm, I took our 8 year old granddaughter to Skate at the Park. She had only been on skates once before, and that was indoors. Being the life-enthusiast that she is, getting out of the house and to the rink was a breeze. Sweater weather made things much easier. A relatively decent pair of rental skates added to the excitement - for about 30 seconds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You know from my previous two Facing Your Fears posts that I was just getting back on the ice myself. Inching up a slippery ramp and then helping my granddaughter onto the ice was a fear I hadn't expected. I was scared of falling, or falling on her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"NANA!! HOLD ON TO ME! I'M SCARED! I CAN'T DOOOOO THIS!" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(Deep breath.)</span><br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_xo9uf6y0w/XDZQunim9yI/AAAAAAAADc8/Vy_W9CR_XAYzvtGrOCkXjoAG3GP8PfBfwCEwYBhgL/s1600/sophie2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="326" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N_xo9uf6y0w/XDZQunim9yI/AAAAAAAADc8/Vy_W9CR_XAYzvtGrOCkXjoAG3GP8PfBfwCEwYBhgL/s200/sophie2.JPG" width="125" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Let's try using the buckets."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(Whimper)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"Okay.."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That was the start.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With temperatures again pushing 50 degrees, the ice was rapidly softening and rutting. That made the edges by the rail something akin to skating on a severe case of acne. Raised bumps and uneven edges were everywhere, making the task of holding on to her while she held on to the buckets quite the challenge. </span><br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MMfEnCoYBeI/XDZQuYnubTI/AAAAAAAADdA/9Zzc5yvBuJAe-E6n6GHHNkb57UITkGhQQCEwYBhgL/s1600/sophie3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="332" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MMfEnCoYBeI/XDZQuYnubTI/AAAAAAAADdA/9Zzc5yvBuJAe-E6n6GHHNkb57UITkGhQQCEwYBhgL/s200/sophie3.JPG" width="115" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After much cajoling, and reminding her that turning can't into can happens by doing, we started to make headway. About 30 minutes into the session, the "Can't" started to become, "Let me try myself but I want to stay close to the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">rail." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I suppressed my inner Skate Mom and didn't even try to give anything resembling "instruction" because it was not going to go well if I did - either for her, or for me. We set some goals of going from one panel to the next without holding on. After a turn around the postage-sized rink, that started to seem like a doable thing. One panel turned into two, then three.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But things really got better when my granddaughter made a friend named Olivia. </span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt04-1xt_AY/XDZXvDDnP1I/AAAAAAAADdU/dDQ7GPSfDXoOfZLFB3IdzEWelalk4WGWgCLcBGAs/s1600/olivia%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="628" height="187" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qt04-1xt_AY/XDZXvDDnP1I/AAAAAAAADdU/dDQ7GPSfDXoOfZLFB3IdzEWelalk4WGWgCLcBGAs/s200/olivia%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Olivia was also using a barrel, but she was already stepping away and was trying things on her own. She and my granddaughter started venturing out to the center of the ice with the barrels. The squealing changed from terror to joy as the two of them figured it all out. Before I knew it, they were both racing around the ice at an amazing clip. The operative phrase went from "Hold on to me!" to "I can do it myself. Watch!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jQ_a3oi0aI8/XDZah0CNm-I/AAAAAAAADeI/VtVUghZF7sMIiGW_zV4ZxZGZZp3-hbv-gCEwYBhgL/s1600/sophie%2Band%2Bteam%2Busa2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jQ_a3oi0aI8/XDZah0CNm-I/AAAAAAAADeI/VtVUghZF7sMIiGW_zV4ZxZGZZp3-hbv-gCEwYBhgL/s320/sophie%2Band%2Bteam%2Busa2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VG8qTChpNBQ/XDZXwEBJfZI/AAAAAAAADd8/aefjsLSwwsQyWabr29ZmwaPpFS3JCHkDwCEwYBhgL/s1600/sophie%2Band%2Bteamusa%2Bvincent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VG8qTChpNBQ/XDZXwEBJfZI/AAAAAAAADd8/aefjsLSwwsQyWabr29ZmwaPpFS3JCHkDwCEwYBhgL/s200/sophie%2Band%2Bteamusa%2Bvincent.jpg" width="150" /></a>It was "Skate With Team USA" that afternoon, so we stopped for lunch, went back to the rink, got our skates on again and tried to find a centimeter of ice that wasn't taken up by all the people who had come out to skate with the athletes. At that point, I was exhausted. I had been on my skates for nearly four solid hours. I also had no intention of getting on the ice with the Team members, all of whom I knew. That would have been taking the Skate Mom thing to an entirely new and awkward level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At the end of the day, exhausted and exhilarated, we headed home. My granddaughter faced her fears and learned that anything is possible if you are willing to work for it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Me? I managed to do some very tentative crossovers for the first time in five years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At home by the fireplace that night, with hot cocoa in hand, we both agreed that we had accomplished much that day in the park, under the sun. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And we agreed that it was just the beginning.</span></div>
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Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-21620643213375302092018-12-23T09:16:00.002-07:002018-12-23T10:13:54.862-07:00FACING YOUR FEARS: PART 2 - A Breath of Fresh Air<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BfexbZmIN4/XB-xjVzAiKI/AAAAAAAADcQ/aBS1lD-TFcQtWc8hXnXtdmgry2x68ZyuACLcBGAs/s1600/Bitmojiskate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7BfexbZmIN4/XB-xjVzAiKI/AAAAAAAADcQ/aBS1lD-TFcQtWc8hXnXtdmgry2x68ZyuACLcBGAs/s1600/Bitmojiskate.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It had been a couple of weeks from the time I'd braved the ice. My first foray was the most difficult. It had been a long time coming, a lot of pain and a few more years had floated under the bridge. I <a href="https://ontheedgeofskating.blogspot.com/2018/12/facing-your-fears.html" target="_blank">chronicled that event</a> in my last blog, and then life started moving quickly as I found myself facing my immanent retirement. </span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCsoYEwFICk/XB-uHyeh3XI/AAAAAAAADbs/bodkO_U0NfgtbdcKy3tp4dcOTKumVHUngCLcBGAs/s1600/park.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="798" height="177" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qCsoYEwFICk/XB-uHyeh3XI/AAAAAAAADbs/bodkO_U0NfgtbdcKy3tp4dcOTKumVHUngCLcBGAs/s200/park.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Skating outdoors was the next step in my three-part return to achieving my "Bucket List" dream, but the weather had not been particularly conducive to doing that, and frankly I was not sure exactly where to go. I was looking on line to see about outdoor venues in my area when Skating at the Park came up. Every winter for a few months, the city constructs an outdoor venue in a city park right in the heart of downtown. The location has its upside - and some downsides - but it is convenient, and the view of the mountains is lovely, particularly in the evening with the holiday lights shining. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This would be the perfect place to start, but all my close group of adult friends who skate live in other places. I didn't want to go by myself, so I figured I'd wait and perhaps go inside one more time just to make sure I'd be okay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Then, last weekend a friend of a good friend who had friended me on Facebook (that's a lot of friending in one sentence), sent me a message. She had mentioned before about going, but frankly I had forgotten with everything else going on. The message read something like this: </span><br />
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<em>"It's a beautiful day! Let's go skating at the park.I can meet at 11am." </em></blockquote>
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<em>"I can't do 11, but I can meet you at 1," I replied. "I have a couple of things I have to do first. Text me about 12:30 and we'll go."</em></blockquote>
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<em>"Sounds good."</em></blockquote>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CM3psar2v4Y/XB-xsmMOZCI/AAAAAAAADcU/t6O3EDRwClkyziS9xFXXlQdaH-LxRepLACLcBGAs/s1600/skate%2Band%2Bme.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1135" height="118" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CM3psar2v4Y/XB-xsmMOZCI/AAAAAAAADcU/t6O3EDRwClkyziS9xFXXlQdaH-LxRepLACLcBGAs/s200/skate%2Band%2Bme.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I finished my errands early and put everything away. Suddenly, a wave of nervous adrenaline swept over me. I started getting dressed. Nothing seemed right. Everything was either too heavy or too light. I couldn't find my gloves. Was I going to need a hat? I didn't want to wear jeans because what if I fell? I'd be soaked. There's no place to change. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">And so it went - until the phone rang. Then everything fell into place and off I went.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-COQLRKoc5l4/XB-wCDGlgYI/AAAAAAAADb8/MOjLy5gHMD0T9b487sF2omhe45MckxY8gCLcBGAs/s1600/LoriFussellskate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="580" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-COQLRKoc5l4/XB-wCDGlgYI/AAAAAAAADb8/MOjLy5gHMD0T9b487sF2omhe45MckxY8gCLcBGAs/s320/LoriFussellskate.jpg" width="192" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I had only met Lori one time before, a few years back when Adult Sectionals were held here. She is a competitive adult skater and very active in that wonderful world of men and women who are totally dedicated to the excruciatingly hard work, dedication, camaraderie - and fun - of competing in this sport as an adult. When I came up to the park, I recognized her right away from her photos . We chatted, paid our admission, headed to the benches and put on our skates. We talked about fears; about what both of us were facing in taking this step back on the ice. I wasn't aware until that moment about Lori's battle with injuries and surgery, what she had faced, and her own questions about getting back after some time off. We inched our way up the ramp, dodging young children and some very excited foreign visitors who were obviously on the ice for the first time. We both slid our blades on what could barely be called ice because it was a perfect blue sky day, and the 50 degree temperature at 1 in the afternoon had turned the extremely small and overcrowded surface into a giant, rutted Slurpy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I honestly thought I'd only last about 30 minutes. I think Lori felt the same. But, we moved (I'd hardly call it skating) around in circles, maneuvering around the masses, and talking about how difficult it is to come back to the ice as an adult after you've had life-changing events. Thirty minutes turned into more than an hour. In that time, we both laughed, gained confidence, and we gained a deeper understanding of one another and what it took for both of us to meet on that sunny day in the park, put on our skates and simply get started again. Each in our own way, that simple step was a huge victory for both of us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Friday, I completed my last full day at work. I have two more half-days before I officially retire after working for more than 47 years in my chosen profession. I have struggled with that for the past few months. I've panicked about being on fixed income, not knowing what was next for me or what I would do with my life after work. However, that one day back outside, talking with a friend, skating around in a slushy circle with the sun shining and the mountains peering over the tops of the buildings downtown, made me realize that somehow everything was going to be okay. I had taken another step forward and achieved another goal, and there would me many more.<br />
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That was my "Ah Ha" moment, and it was truly a breath of fresh air.<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-53533388409495889882018-12-02T10:11:00.001-07:002018-12-23T07:42:49.283-07:00FACING YOUR FEARS<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KnSRMVJH1Ow/TR9NDrG_cjI/AAAAAAAAAjc/iQNegRnehIkIzf_kmHciBAaHYKV4TtIZQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/fly%2Bquote%2Bcrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="672" height="247" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KnSRMVJH1Ow/TR9NDrG_cjI/AAAAAAAAAjc/iQNegRnehIkIzf_kmHciBAaHYKV4TtIZQCPcBGAYYCw/s320/fly%2Bquote%2Bcrop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Recently, I got back on skates again. It had been nearly four years since I was on the ice. Arthritis and bunions made it difficult to find comfortable shoes, and impossible for me to get my foot into my old skates, let alone my work shoes. Finally, the pain got so bad that I opted for surgery on my left foot to relieve the pressure. Seven screws, a pin and a plate later, I found myself on a long road to recovery, still with pain and now with toes that didn't bend. First there was the scooter, then crutches and finally a walking boot for eight weeks. After that, there was the issue of finding shoes that I could wear, getting rid of a closet full that had outlived any semblance of usefulness, and experimenting with varying pads, splints and all manner of contraptions on my feet in order to find the combination that would allow me to walk again pain free. That took nearly two years. </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOcyp7USiZk/Whj_XmP1KDI/AAAAAAAADS8/zcFo3oNyBY4U3l4ef6oIAHOHiZiW-UhhQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/IMG_8573.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOcyp7USiZk/Whj_XmP1KDI/AAAAAAAADS8/zcFo3oNyBY4U3l4ef6oIAHOHiZiW-UhhQCPcBGAYYCw/s200/IMG_8573.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at Rockefeller Center 1952.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">One of the driving forces behind succeeding was to actually get back on the ice. I love skating outdoors. I do not like skating in circles around a rink since I spent a better portion of 29 years sitting and watching those infinitely more talented than I transform those surfaces into magical places of athleticism and wonder. I simply wanted to be on a frozen pond, surrounded by nature and thankful for the absolute joy that feeling brings. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ejXJuidgrI/XAQND0CnivI/AAAAAAAADac/vErAsSnsEl0DMujZJtQeWBa86oyxYREJQCEwYBhgL/s1600/softechskates.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="292" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ejXJuidgrI/XAQND0CnivI/AAAAAAAADac/vErAsSnsEl0DMujZJtQeWBa86oyxYREJQCEwYBhgL/s200/softechskates.JPG" width="183" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I found a pair of skates called SofTech by Jackson Ultima. They are purely recreational by design. They are functional, but the most important thing about them is that I could get my non-bending toes into the boots. After a conversation with my Jackson rep, the same one who takes care of my son's skates, we concluded that I would 1) not be doing triple axels, and 2) probably not be attempting death spirals (at least not on purpose - or with a partner). This made my choice the best one for what I did want to accomplish: Getting back on the ice just after my 70th birthday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">The skates came in. They fit like a glove. Now, all I had to do was get back to a safe place to test them out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Nothing outside was open - or even frozen - when my skates were delivered. However, I knew I had to get back on the ice. I had to face my fears of being out of shape, feeling my age and, frankly, being afraid of falling and breaking something. All the "What If's" flooded my brain like a Zamboni laying down a new surface after a particularly rough elite practice session. </span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7XdnmoJv7E8/XAQRW7-Ro9I/AAAAAAAADa4/vhlBFR65RK8mt_rzv4AYyKjmI-HM-hhCwCLcBGAs/s1600/new%2Bskates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7XdnmoJv7E8/XAQRW7-Ro9I/AAAAAAAADa4/vhlBFR65RK8mt_rzv4AYyKjmI-HM-hhCwCLcBGAs/s200/new%2Bskates.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I gritted my teeth, grabbed my skates, looked up a public session time at a local municipal rink, dragged my husband along "just in case" something happened, put on my warm socks, my turtleneck, jeans and a fleece jacket, and off we went. My blood pressure was probably through the roof, but I was going to get on the ice, even if I had to hug the boards. Which is exactly what I did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">That first step back was anything but secure. My mind was saying, "Come on. You've skated all your life. You were pretty good for a recreational skater. You passed basic Moves. You passed preliminary dance tests. You did figures for years. You've GOT this." My body was like. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING??!!! ARE YOU NUTS??? This is NOT like riding a bicycle. Remember the last time you did that? You hit a curb and fell off, bashed your elbow and cut your knees open. This is NOT a good idea! You're out of shape after your surgery. You fell cross-country skiing in Idaho with your daughter last November and twisted your back. You just turned SEVENTY! Go home, have a glass of wine."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Mind over matter - mind over body mass - prevailed. I hugged the boards the first time </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3531H334Chw/XAQRgHixtkI/AAAAAAAADa8/_yFaIWbGNkwSuR75-yzoKmwDU8gngpTMACLcBGAs/s1600/skates%2Bat%2Bsertich.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3531H334Chw/XAQRgHixtkI/AAAAAAAADa8/_yFaIWbGNkwSuR75-yzoKmwDU8gngpTMACLcBGAs/s200/skates%2Bat%2Bsertich.jpg" width="150" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">around while my husband did some video which, thankfully, did not go viral. Second time around, I felt a bit more brave. I let go, but I stayed within reach of my safety net. By the third time, I was actually doing some stroking. Not stoking like a pro, but at least I wasn't walking. Stopping safely was still eluding me so I coasted into the boards by the door, walked onto the mats, put on my guards and considered it a win. I lasted about 30 minutes total, but the point is that I did it. I felt okay. I didn't fall. I was tired but I was grateful that I didn't take the easy way out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I bring this up now because I'm facing retirement at the end of December. While my body is saying it's the right decision, this time my mind is like, "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING??!!! ARE YOU NUTS??? This is not like riding a bicycle..." and you know the rest. So, I'm taking on retirement the same way I took on skating. Mind over matter. Because now time matters, and I have a lot of things I want to do with my life - including skating outside in nature, unafraid and in awe. That's how life should be lived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-61106310692400810132018-08-30T06:55:00.001-06:002018-08-30T07:00:38.981-06:00Like a Phoenix - Time to Return to the Edge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llwQ3ix3GWM/TO0i1LFNv3I/AAAAAAAAAh8/W1onJ22HmJUGW9Ewsacc5Awaem8zE5xQgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Flying%2BPig%2BLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="162" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-llwQ3ix3GWM/TO0i1LFNv3I/AAAAAAAAAh8/W1onJ22HmJUGW9Ewsacc5Awaem8zE5xQgCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Flying%2BPig%2BLogo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know it has been a while - actually March - since I posted my thoughts. Frankly, I haven't had much to say.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">However, events of the past few months have made me think a lot about friends and family- ones who are here, ones who have left us, and new friends I've made who are just starting their journey into this strange life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Stay tuned. The door is opening again and I will have a post shortly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-67599267788673907632018-03-05T19:30:00.001-07:002018-03-05T19:31:05.242-07:00Talking in Whispers<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you have followed my blogs for any length of time - say, anywhere between 2009 and just a few weeks ago - you know that I try to use humor to talk about the "universal truths" of skating framed in my perspective and through our experiences over the past 29 or so years. Humor is important in keeping sanity, and in getting a message across. It has been my savior - and my shield - for a long time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This past weekend, however, I had something happen that I wasn't expecting. I had a bit of a breakdown. Actually, it wasn't just a "bit," it was a full-blown I-don't-know-what's-going-on-or-what's-wrong-with-me breakdown/meltdown, whatever one chooses to call it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Being - well - me, I had to try and figure it out. In doing so, I came to the realization that what we don't talk about - except in whispers to ourselves amid tears at 2AM - is what happens to us when the stress of however many years, is gone. Pile on top of that all the things that happen at work, at home, with family members, with finances, and what is left is a very large bucket filled with a mixture of anxiety, uncertainty - nothingness, and everything-ness. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For me, things went from survival to feeling like the story about Lemmings and the cliff. However, this cliff was atop Mount Everest. I'm not quite sure how I made it to the summit, but now I was looking down from 29, 029 feet with no oxygen and no clear egress. Apparently, I packed a lifetime of emotionally <span style="color: red;"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunnysacking" target="_blank">gunnysacking</a> </span>over the past decade or two, and the weight was crushing. My mother passed away in October leaving us all with volumes of papers and a warehouse full of collected "stuff" to sort through. Several weeks before she passed, I was crushed with finishing a book, as both an editor and contributor, one that exacted a year-and-a half toll out of my life. The week before, our daughter came home to see her. The day before, our son had MOHS surgery for basal cell carcinomas on his head. He made it home hours before she left us. A few months after that, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I gave my work a year's notice to my retirement at the end of this year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With the end of the quadrennial and the naming of the Olympic team, work changed for our skater and many of the shows he had the great fortune to do for the past eight years evaporated, going to the next generation of skaters who had now earned their way. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Everything I had known, for the 69 years of my life, and the past 29 years of my life on the edge of skating, was either drastically changing - or gone. Disquieting does not adequately describe that realization. Terrifying may be more accurate. </span><br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lZO6IWG_Cqo/Wp35F8MP_FI/AAAAAAAADXM/W1SDDb8rXnMuB6DsxpOb2BNSnkLc1A4fQCLcBGAs/s1600/sign.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="428" height="170" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lZO6IWG_Cqo/Wp35F8MP_FI/AAAAAAAADXM/W1SDDb8rXnMuB6DsxpOb2BNSnkLc1A4fQCLcBGAs/s200/sign.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There has been a lot of conversation about helping skaters who come to the end of their competitive careers without a goal, or even a plan. It is a problem that is being examined and, hopefully, addressed. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But no one is talking about us. I suppose it is because, as parents, it is expected. We are the "skating moms" and "skate dads" who stoically sat on metal bleachers, who quietly (and sometimes not-so-quietly) did our jobs so our kids could reach their individual levels of success. This competition thing - this sport - takes its toll on us, too. And when it is over, we are faced with different lives because of it. We are older. For the most part, our kids are grown and gone. For many, our families are divided - either by distance or by choice. We are faced with that universal question of "What do I do now?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The answer to the question is as individual as the people who have gone through it and are now seeking the answer to what we do. It is not as simple as just moving on. That gunnysack has a lot in it that needs to be sorted through, and purged.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, there I was over the weekend, not knowing what was wrong; crying for no seeming reason; unable to verbalize out loud the flood of emotions that were overwhelming me. In whispers, I spoke to my husband, who listened, understood and did not think I was falling off the cliff, just teetering on the edge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm fully aware that not everyone has that kind of support, and I could not be more grateful. However, all of you who have children who are athletes, or prodigies that required nurturing - and lives that we have either put on hold or ones that have gotten in the way- there will come a time, sooner or later, when you will reach that that point. It is our rite of passage, I suppose. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The only constant is change. The question is how to prepare for it - or if you even can. </span><br />
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Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-14312103802979194532018-02-04T11:20:00.000-07:002018-02-04T11:28:44.491-07:00A Short Note to Those Journalists Covering The Olympics -<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I don't normally step away from my admittedly self-ordained role as one who attempts to chronicle parental skating life with a sense of humor, but I need to take a moment to speak to media covering the Olympics - some, perhaps, for the first time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Please remember this: There are <b>NO</b> ex-Olympians <i>(unless they had their medals removed for cheating)</i>; there are <b>NO</b> former Olympians. The athletes that represent their countries in all sports - winter and summer - are forever always Olympians. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Like generals who lead their troops, these athletes earned their stripes. They earned the right to take the hopes and dreams of their countries with them into "battle" on the world's biggest stage. Some are victorious; some are not. They are all heroes. And NONE who served so well deserve the moniker of "former" or "ex". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, as we head into Olympics in PyeongChang, honor those Olympians who came before; who stepped out, and stepped up, to serve proudly. Please speak and write with respect about what they went through to earn their right to represent. They serve an important advisory role to a new generation of leaders who are trained, prepared and wear their country's colors with great pride. The Olympic family is just that - family. Give them credit for going where most will never tread. They deserve that from you. They deserve that from all of us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-77628623905624815452018-01-01T10:03:00.000-07:002018-01-01T10:03:47.317-07:00Sightseeing<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am packing for San Jose today. I leave for Nationals early this coming Thursday morning. And like the last few, this is another year when I can be a cheerleader since I have no "horse in the race." However, this year is the Triple Crown, the World Series, the Indy 500 of skating because it is the end of the quadrennial and that means only one thing in in skatingdom - Olympics! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's always a time for me to get somewhat teary-eyed remembering back, oh nearly 30 years now, to those first forays onto the ice. How quickly that time has gone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don't mean to sound maudlin at all. I wouldn't trade a moment of it. In the early years of competitions, it was fun and games. We'd go to the rink, warm up, skate, go out for pizza and go sightseeing. Even if it was somewhere close to home and a place we'd been many times before, we'd find fun things to do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Somehow, that all changed when things got "real." Not real in the truly real sense; real as most skate parents perceive real to be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a way-too-long time, sightseeing at competitions - both non-qualifying and qualifying - became something like this:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Map out how far it is from your hotel to Starbucks</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look at the practice schedule</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Map out how far it is from the hotel to the practice rink</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Figure out the time between getting from practice back to the main rink</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Map out how far the main rink is from Starbucks</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Figure out if you can bring Starbucks into the main rink or do you have to bolt it down outside, or find a way to sneak it in</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look on line to find where you are sitting and how far away it is from the nearest bathroom</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Find out who you are sitting near because you may need to move</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Calculate how many laps you need to do around the concourse to get some modicum of exercise, then not do it</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Find the nearest cafe that sells wine in the arena</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look for a restaurant close by so you are sure not to miss a moment of official practice ice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Look for over-priced essentially junk food on the concourse because there isn't time to go out for a real meal (oh those Nachos..)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Buy souvenirs from the vendors that you end up throwing on the ice, never to be seen again</span></li>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TKiRh9nZjr8/V4HAXdWRX9I/AAAAAAAADLM/gCTdS-fVBCkTk5fC_AR8dV8o5BRJtfzhQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/44164160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TKiRh9nZjr8/V4HAXdWRX9I/AAAAAAAADLM/gCTdS-fVBCkTk5fC_AR8dV8o5BRJtfzhQCPcBGAYYCw/s200/44164160.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I mention all of this because if you are a relatively new skating parent, or even a skating fan, I'm mapping out what your reality may be. I know some of you are sitting there saying, "Oh no, that's not ME. I love to get out and see the sights." Okay. I believe you. I used to say that, too. I still do. And, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'd like to say that it has changed. Sadly, it has not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Yes, I do get out more now that I don't have a competitor, but when I go to Nationals, most of my best sightseeing could be categorized more as sightings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Nationals is an annual family reunion on steroids (not the USADA kind; we don't have to pee in a cup - well, at least not on purpose). While you would like think you can escape from the arena, chances are you won't even make it out the door. I rarely make it from one section of seat signs on to another on the concourse without getting stopped by another skating family, a skater, former skater, coach, official, friend or fan. I'm as guilty as everyone else when it comes to this. I have my friends whom I stalk at Nationals. We've even been known to text, Tweet or Facebook to find one another. </span><br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RmbhtYFewAg/Wkpi-L9zsNI/AAAAAAAADVY/1XxQ-i-LM5QFv2XmzMt5QLjZsJ4dj4NiACEwYBhgL/s1600/Arena%2BCrowds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RmbhtYFewAg/Wkpi-L9zsNI/AAAAAAAADVY/1XxQ-i-LM5QFv2XmzMt5QLjZsJ4dj4NiACEwYBhgL/s200/Arena%2BCrowds.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Where are you?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"I don't see you."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"Look up. Im' in section 108."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"WAIVE!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"I still can't find... Oh, I SEE YOU now!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's a game we play every year that allows you to either see</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> your favorite family members - or avoid that crazy relative you can't escape if they corner you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So, as I pack for San Jose, I'm grateful that I've "been there; done that." If I see the light of day, I'll count my blessings. If I make it to their fabulous art museum again, I'll consider myself lucky. The good thing is that I KNOW where Starbucks is and how to get to my favorite restaurants quickly. The rest? I'll map it out when I get there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">As we do our sightseeing in the SAP, all I really want to do is see our athletes do their best, no matter the outcome. Good luck to all who are looking to earn their way to PyeongChang. If you make the team, it will be a sightseeing trip like none you've ever imagined. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Madison Chock and Jeremy Abbott - Photo by NBC</span></td></tr>
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<br />Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-11827645858465907802017-12-31T12:08:00.000-07:002017-12-31T13:37:54.339-07:00Pentimento, Kintsugi and The Art of Figure Skating<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am a huge fan of <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/sunday-morning/" target="_blank">CBS Sunday Morning</a>. I have been watching it for decades. I've found their stories wonderfully informative, entertaining and thought-provoking. This morning, however, watching a piece by <a href="http://faithsalie.com/" target="_blank">Faith Salie</a> on "How Art Can Help Shape Your New Year's Resolutions," I had an epiphany, of sorts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First, let me say that I have a mostly-unused university minor in art history. I say "unused" the same way I say "algebra." While I served as a trustee of our Fine Arts Center with great reverence and pride for three years, it required me to use my knowledge of art about as much as I use algebra.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Anyway, in her piece on <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/faith-salie-on-how-art-can-help-shape-our-new-years-resolutions/" target="_blank">New Year's Resolutions</a>, Ms. Salie used art to make a very good point; one that was not lost on me as I start to pack my bags and get ready to head to San Jose for the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships where our new Olympic Team will be named. From the depths of my schooling, Ms. Salie reminded me about two of my favorite things in the art world: Pentimento and Kintsugi. </span><br />
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A Matisse drawing with erasure marks.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Using her words, here is the definition of Pentimento:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>"This past year, I
learned two life-changing ideas from the world of art.</i></span><i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">One is "pentimento," which I first encountered
when I saw a drawing by the artist Henri Matisse. </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>As I got closer, I could see that Matisse had sketched over
and over and didn't entirely erase his scribbles. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>A friend explained this is called pentimento, which is
Italian for "repent" -- to regret, to change your mind. Matisse, a
master, left his stumbles for us to see, and the ghosts of his mistakes inspire
us to strive not for perfection, but for creation."<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Mind blown. A master left his stumbles for us to see, and the ghosts of his mistakes inspire us to strive not for perfection, but for creation. Hmm..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then there was this from Ms. Salie on Kintsugi:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wsmo3kMQpOI/Wkkw1-LkDkI/AAAAAAAADU4/yUNUjvHGVjsSc8aFQbeBWY33DGwSRFSKgCLcBGAs/s1600/kintsugi-bowls-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="131" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wsmo3kMQpOI/Wkkw1-LkDkI/AAAAAAAADU4/yUNUjvHGVjsSc8aFQbeBWY33DGwSRFSKgCLcBGAs/s200/kintsugi-bowls-9.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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Kintsugi - <br />
filling in a ceramic's cracks with gold. <br />
<b>C</b></div>
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<i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">"The other notion is "kintsugi," which is the
Japanese method of repairing broken ceramics with gold.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>The idea is that the cracks of something are part of its
history and should be kept visible, even shiny! It's the art of embracing
damage while making something whole. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>An object becomes more beautiful because of its flaws." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Wait. What? Repair something broken with gold, embracing the damage while keeping it visible, and even shiny because the flaws are beautiful? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Ms. Salie continued her piece with this observation: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><o:p></o:p>"What if we consider kintsugi and pentimento in our New
Year's resolutions? The word itself, "re-solution," suggests we
return to our shortcomings, chronically trying to solve ourselves again and
again." </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ASSFLUCvF9s/UxiC-2EEpMI/AAAAAAAACkw/A5l30d9ldgQk7m2Nk4PteoPUxb5vEownQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Team%2Busa%2Bflags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="453" height="198" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ASSFLUCvF9s/UxiC-2EEpMI/AAAAAAAACkw/A5l30d9ldgQk7m2Nk4PteoPUxb5vEownQCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Team%2Busa%2Bflags.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Without even knowing it, Faith Salie just summed up everything about figure skating. The fact that only three men, three women, three dance teams and one pairs team - a <b>GRAND TOTAL OF FOURTEEN ATHLETES </b>- will represent our country at the XXIII Winter Olympic Games just mere weeks from now is important, but not totally the point. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After San Jose, there will be many who will feel imperfect, cracked, flawed or perhaps broken - either in their own minds, or made to feel so by those around them - because they were not "perfect." It will take awhile for them to look at what they did, the hours they trained and the art they presented to realize that the gold they may not have collected this time, on this frozen canvas, does not mean that what they did to get there should be dismissed or discarded. Whether they choose to continue to create, or move to another discipline in life, make no mistake about this one very important thing: What each one left us with was their personal form of art. The gold may not have been there for the crowds to see atop the podium, but it was - and will be - forever in their hearts. Despite critics; despite the crowd, these artist-athletes were chosen to exhibit their works because they </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">earned their place in the grand gallery of San Jose. They may have left flaws for us to see, but in doing so they presented heart. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>"But we'll never be perfect, so perhaps our re-solutions can involve being humble enough to shed light on our cracks -- and brave enough to repair them visibly. </i></span><i style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Maybe that's a kind of time travel in which we make peace with past and future at the same time."</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Words for all of us to consider, to live by, and to use as part of our re-solution heading into San Jose, Ms. Salie. Thank you for helping bring clarity to our flaws. Happy New Year. </span></div>
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<br />Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-18506993483590970292017-12-29T19:35:00.000-07:002017-12-30T07:27:18.554-07:00Advice to the Lutzlorn and Things I Won't Miss at U.S. Figure Skating Championships 2018 This Olympic Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have been spending a lot of time in the role that seems to suit me - being a small, green and war-weary trooper who everyone seems to think offers sage advice. I'm not quite sure how I achieved such revered status and respect. I don't seem to get it from within my four walls (which are appropriately decked out with lush padding), so I'll just go with it out there in cyberspace. I guess that, along the way, I somehow earned my scars and stripes.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WB4uQ6h8QQY/Wkb2KCYPVhI/AAAAAAAADUI/x7sdoxUUNckjQ1HrV5O9yV76qKpp1oicACEwYBhgL/s1600/yoda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="750" height="118" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WB4uQ6h8QQY/Wkb2KCYPVhI/AAAAAAAADUI/x7sdoxUUNckjQ1HrV5O9yV76qKpp1oicACEwYBhgL/s200/yoda.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Which brings me to my week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I have been in contact with no less than three skating parents who, if their ridiculously talented kids do what we know they will in San Jose next week, will be faced with the task of summiting Mount Olympus for the first time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are so many questions; so many financial concerns; so much fear and trepidation surrounding:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>How do I get there</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Where do I stay</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>How do I pay</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Can I cut costs</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Will I see my skater</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Should I get tickets</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Is it safe</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I don't speak the language</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Can I drink the water</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>What if I get sick</i></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(and so on, and so on, and shoobee doobee doo)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I guess because I'm old and green, I'm supposed to know. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, I've been trying to answer all the questions and allay the trepidation. I've been networking my parent friends with my legion of wonderful Korean friends who have been there for us since 2008 when they discovered my skater at the Grand Prix Final. I cannot tell you how truly special these girls - now women - are to me. Actually, they are way </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-epceg-NRd8A/Wkb2JOpPRUI/AAAAAAAADUI/jxfgMlQ4O5Ippqf0VFda_Ir4seq053Y1gCEwYBhgL/s1600/seoul%2Bsisters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-epceg-NRd8A/Wkb2JOpPRUI/AAAAAAAADUI/jxfgMlQ4O5Ippqf0VFda_Ir4seq053Y1gCEwYBhgL/s200/seoul%2Bsisters.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">beyond special; they are part of my worldwide extended family that spans many continents, countries and cities. I have learned so much from all them over the years. The laughs and the stories we share are some of my most treasured memories. When I put out a message on Facebook for help, my Korean family answered the call immediately. I am so grateful.They jumped in with lodging suggestions, offers of assistance in Seoul and at the Games; transportation ideas. I had an instant South Korean travel and guide agency at the ready. How special is that to have those kind of friends halfway around the world with a 15 hour time difference. They were answering me in real time. I'm convinced they don't sleep, but then neither do I, and I adore them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Which leads me to the second part of this blog. </span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ROBKiIeLM1E/Wkb4Oz4xuSI/AAAAAAAADUs/3h5BTyU2f54JG-OfgFrjBEWinogNrLvIACEwYBhgL/s1600/San%2BJose%2BNaionals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1600" height="182" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ROBKiIeLM1E/Wkb4Oz4xuSI/AAAAAAAADUs/3h5BTyU2f54JG-OfgFrjBEWinogNrLvIACEwYBhgL/s320/San%2BJose%2BNaionals.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here are the things I won't miss as I wing my way west to San Jose on Thursday and prepare myself to cheer on our athletes: </span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss any event after I arrive for which I am gratefully ticketed</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss another opportunity to sit in the Lutz corner (force of habit)</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss saying hi and hugging every skater, judge and coach I know</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss hanging with my Tweeps and Facebook friends because they are special</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss attending the Hall of Fame party</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss helping out at Friends of Figure Skating brunch</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss, as a Gold Sponsor of Destination PyeongChang, the Olympic Team Sendoff</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>I won't miss seeing my son because we both know how important it is to be there to support the next generation of gladiators who will glide into the most breathtaking experience of their lives with one of the greatest responsibilities they have ever shouldered - that of representing our country with the best they have to offer as athletes, no matter what the outcome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The last thing I won't miss is what my competitor parent friends are going though now: The sick-to-your-stomach feeling of knowing, and not knowing, that all your love, support, time, money and life has come down to a few moments on a frozen surface in the U.S. that could lead to another frozen surface half a world away and in front of a worldwide audience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Being excited, scared and so incredibly proud thinking that you could see your kid march into that stadium wearing the mantel of Olympic Athlete - that is truly priceless.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYcYwvPaTe4/Wkb2JiddJiI/AAAAAAAADUI/tuF7DHpBfkUl9VgHJYAQFHQUL68MAkxxACEwYBhgL/s1600/teamusa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="487" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OYcYwvPaTe4/Wkb2JiddJiI/AAAAAAAADUI/tuF7DHpBfkUl9VgHJYAQFHQUL68MAkxxACEwYBhgL/s320/teamusa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jeremy Abbott taking photos during Opening Ceremonies in Sochi</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">While I will miss being in PyeongChang and being with my other family, I won't miss that feeling of being a competitor's mom at all. I will revel in my memories of Vancouver and Sochi while I cheer for all those who represent us proudly and so well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's not easy being green..either from nausea, or from being Yoda.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">See you in San Jose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>(This blog is dedicated to our Team Leader in Sochi, Kathy Slack. May you smile down on all of us. We miss you terribly.)</i></span><br />
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Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-4245446533802164892017-11-24T22:58:00.001-07:002017-11-24T22:58:44.378-07:00Keepsakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">There it was. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In an Instagram story on the day before
Thanksgiving, it all became clear. My son, sitting at a table with his idols,
who became mentors, then friends, were now his extended family. Twenty nine
years of skating was summed up in only a few words inserted over a photo taken
in a restaurant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t know how to describe exactly how I felt; perhaps
that’s why it has taken me a few days to organize my thoughts. But as the last
Grand Prix of this Olympic season got underway in Lake Placid today, it made
me think of everything it took to get us to where we are now, to every
experience along the way, and to all the people who were the tight fabric – or
the loose threads – that wove our journey to this revered and almost sacred
place in skating called “Family.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The timing for his post could not have been better because I
had just spent a week with my daughter in Idaho culling through a mélange of literally
hundreds of old photos that had managed to find their way into boxes,
envelopes, tattered scrapbooks, crates and suitcases. Some I hadn’t seen in
more than 25 years; some were more recent. For better or worse, they all
brought back a flood of memories surrounding that one particular moment now
frozen in time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0DltLHXcvc/Whj_ahMVUmI/AAAAAAAADSI/AkdwaCQQGmoEkJ5KBIH9PYX4Ffj5zlGGgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8919%2B%2528Edited%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0DltLHXcvc/Whj_ahMVUmI/AAAAAAAADSI/AkdwaCQQGmoEkJ5KBIH9PYX4Ffj5zlGGgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_8919%2B%2528Edited%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Images scattered on the floor took me on a visual and mental roller coaster ride from Vancouver in 2010, back to Aspen in 1989, and forward
at seemingly warp speed to Sochi 2014 and Stars on Ice this spring. Years of
competitions were laid out before me. Not all the images were salvageable after
decades of wear, weather and bad storage, but most of the memories remained,
even if the pictures were faded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I bring this up mostly because today we live in a digital
world where we are posting our lives by the hour and minute to a multitude of social
media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Tumblr.
Everything is in the “now.” Many are designed to simply disappear. It is true
that they are not all jewels worth preserving, but the aggregate make up the more
linear stories of our lives.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8iUnHc1X844/WhkBdnW4jlI/AAAAAAAADTI/jzmTjEMlBCQyY1y1jXlbmKCtQLkEtdsGwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_8925%2B%2528Edited%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8iUnHc1X844/WhkBdnW4jlI/AAAAAAAADTI/jzmTjEMlBCQyY1y1jXlbmKCtQLkEtdsGwCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_8925%2B%2528Edited%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Nick Kole, Evan Gibbs, John Coughlin, Jeremy Abbott<br /></span></td></tr>
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My point is this: </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Make sure you document and preserve
important milestones for posterity. Make sure you don’t discard those photos
from a young age with friends and competitors alike. Take pictures with coaches
and judges. If you meet someone you look up to, make sure to record the moment.
We live in a world of disposable media, but that doesn’t mean we should also
dispose of the memories that caused us to press the button and save the moment.
Images are catalysts. They can remind us where we have been so we can
appreciate how far we have come, and how quickly the time in between has passed.
And how, along the way, idols became mentors, and mentors became trusted friends
who are now truly family - not just in skating, but in life.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aLWnphb-L-0/Whj_dMPsCcI/AAAAAAAADS8/SKSnY-9jWp4eKogUVcWaqgAH84ra9EksgCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_9348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_WSt553qCg/Whj_cFe6_sI/AAAAAAAADS8/p3mmgjM-MNkW-o6EXMq8MQX9ZRy9swn8wCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_9066%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_WSt553qCg/Whj_cFe6_sI/AAAAAAAADS8/p3mmgjM-MNkW-o6EXMq8MQX9ZRy9swn8wCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_9066%25281%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aLWnphb-L-0/Whj_dMPsCcI/AAAAAAAADS8/SKSnY-9jWp4eKogUVcWaqgAH84ra9EksgCEwYBhgL/s320/IMG_9348.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-37283896036075642422017-06-25T08:29:00.000-06:002020-03-06T06:34:49.987-07:00Closing The Book<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psg6UGVxZn4/WU86VCbm-SI/AAAAAAAADOw/j9Wf9Loz6lwlrN2uZ4gxTdjisrIZpknZACLcBGAs/s1600/19275246_10213407414124229_7573154942053057313_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="803" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-psg6UGVxZn4/WU86VCbm-SI/AAAAAAAADOw/j9Wf9Loz6lwlrN2uZ4gxTdjisrIZpknZACLcBGAs/s400/19275246_10213407414124229_7573154942053057313_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/dds.mlb.com/icenetwork/2017/ep35/icetalkep35.mp3" target="_blank">Ice Network Interview MP3</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />It was Tuesday, June 20, around 7PM. My husband, Allen, was driving. I was sitting in the back seat of the car as we drove away from the Colorado Springs airport, heading home with our son. The conversation went something like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Me - I saw that you did an <a href="http://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/dds.mlb.com/icenetwork/2017/ep35/icetalkep35.mp3" target="_blank">Ice Talk interview </a>for Ice Network with Nick McCarvel. It's supposed to air tomorrow? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jeremy - Yeah, I think so. (pause) Uh, you probably should know that I announced my retirement. It just kind of slipped out...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Me - That's interesting. </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>(A moment of silence ensued followed by a backseat Happy Dance)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9FPv0woX7Sk/VT1yxkIMcEI/AAAAAAAAC-4/nWoa-FN0VYoEzl6TxIa9c2hl0JRfMs9jACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="536" height="196" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9FPv0woX7Sk/VT1yxkIMcEI/AAAAAAAAC-4/nWoa-FN0VYoEzl6TxIa9c2hl0JRfMs9jACPcBGAYYCw/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And so it went. There was a sudden panicked realization that a LOT of key people probably needed to know about this: Coaches, officials, family, friends, U.S. Figure Skating (though we "assume" they already knew at that point if they had previewed the segment). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CQRa5x1QcWQ/TCC7bPRhJoI/AAAAAAAAAYI/sz7i2IJz3hE0MayzE6JDQs9knUbQOb1yACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/bottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="576" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CQRa5x1QcWQ/TCC7bPRhJoI/AAAAAAAAAYI/sz7i2IJz3hE0MayzE6JDQs9knUbQOb1yACPcBGAYYCw/s200/bottle.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There was a flurry of activity and some continuing conversation about "what's next." To be honest, I don't even remember all of what was discussed, other than that making a public statement was kind of like graduating from college and looking out over the sea of faces, caps and gowns and feeling alone in your thoughts as you contemplate an uncertain future. After all, for the past two-plus decades, you had structure. You had places to be on time; a schedule that was unrelenting. You knew where you were going and what was expected of you - and what you expected of yourself. Now, with one short sentence, it all changed. All that was left seemed like a void in front of you; a vast sea of nothingness.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Of course, that's overly third act of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_traviata" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">La Traviata</span></a> dramatic. The feeling, however, is quite palpable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The wonderful interview aired on Ice Network June 23, giving us all an extra day to come to grips with our new reality. For me, it was probably easier. I had been quite vocal about my readiness to move from the frozen tundra of competitive skating. I'd even <a href="http://the%20wonderful%20interview%20aired%20on%20ice%20network%20june%2023%2C%20giving%20us%20all%20an%20extra%20day%20to%20come%20to%20grips%20with%20our%20new%20reality.%20for%20me%2C%20it%20was%20probably%20easier.%20i%20had%20been%20quite%20vocal%20about%20my%20readiness%20to%20move%20from%20the%20frozen%20tundra%20of%20competitive%20skating.%20i%27d%20even%20written%20several%20blogs%20that%20were%20intended%20to%20be%20the%20final%20word%20of%20%22life%20on%20the%20edge%20of%20skating.%22/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">written several blogs </span></a>that were intended to be the final word of "Life on the Edge of Skating." </span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pn6lOnLpbo/VfXKy1hlC1I/AAAAAAAADEY/gjdqpYRaZrECfDX9kkLOQI5BddvxE9argCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/safe_image%2B%25284%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="487" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pn6lOnLpbo/VfXKy1hlC1I/AAAAAAAADEY/gjdqpYRaZrECfDX9kkLOQI5BddvxE9argCPcBGAYYCw/s200/safe_image%2B%25284%2529.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then I listened to the interview - much of it being about our family, and about me as a skating mom. Jeremy talked about all of us telling him that we would be supportive no matter what he chose to do. But to hear him state it was very different from having Allen, Jeremy's sister Gwen, and me say those exact same words. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'll admit it - I misted up. Well, okay, I cried. We are an emotional clan, so that should be no surprise to anyone who knows us, or has observed us in the stands at competitions.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TUmyjWg4Iw0/WU9N5EqC6xI/AAAAAAAADPM/2yvdaqsTQXUGHki9IxD9mc0BXipVBpyfgCLcBGAs/s1600/spokane%2Bnationals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="604" height="248" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TUmyjWg4Iw0/WU9N5EqC6xI/AAAAAAAADPM/2yvdaqsTQXUGHki9IxD9mc0BXipVBpyfgCLcBGAs/s320/spokane%2Bnationals.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In a brief 20 minutes, Jeremy put a period at the end of a more than 20-year sentence so he could begin writing his own new chapter in the sport. Because of that, I had a feeling I needed to write one more chapter myself. The only difference was that, this time, mine would truly close the book. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After all, I began this chronicle in </span><a href="http://ontheedgeofskating.blogspot.com/2009/08/welcome-to-all-who-dare-enter.html" style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">August of 2009</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. It was intended</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">as a diary of my experiences and observations as a skating mom writing about my personal experiences in hopefully an intelligent, enlightening, mostly lighthearted manner. I wanted to take readers through our very personal adventures, ups-and-downs, giant steps and a few missed-steps in the sport that has consumed nearly 29 consecutive years of our lives. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I did that. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No apologies, except for the things I could have said but didn't along the way. Now, those things are best left unsaid. They serve no great purpose anyway, other than to make me feel better. I'll simply leave this statement as a "gesture" of goodwill aimed at those who more than earned it over the years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">NOW we move on, each in our own direction. I'm truly grateful to oh-so-many people who helped us along the way; those who guided us, and even those who were misguided. We learned from every experience, and isn't that what life should be about?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I hope that "Life on the Edge of Skating" finds a home in cyberspace for a long time. I hope that what we have experienced as a family, and what I have shared as a skating mom, will resonate with those who are new to the sport. Some things don't change in our world; they are universal truths, even if the individual experiences are as different as every skater who dreams a dream, and every parent who dares to follow. I hope that there will continue to be new readers who find value in what I've written, and who feel free to pass those thoughts along to others coming along in this sport. After all, we are a small, close-knit and slightly dysfunctional frozen family, bound together by a sheet of ice and three-sixteenths of an inch of steel. Find your path - with kindness, civility and, most of all, love of this incredible sport that makes the most difficult look easy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now, I bid not au revoir, but </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">à bientôt</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. Like my son, though this book is closed, I plan on being around supporting skating until I cannot stand - or find words to write. It's what I do. It's what I love, along with all of you who have joined me on this journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">May the Force be with you always.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Allison Scott</span></div>
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</span>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-78636648726503415502017-01-01T10:02:00.000-07:002017-04-14T19:01:09.938-06:00Taking Stock at the Start of 2017<br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> It's now 2017, and it is time to take stock of what's important in my life. Certainly, my family is at the top of the list. I am eternally grateful for all of them. My husband continues to be my rock and my anchor. My 94 year old mother keeps life interesting, as do my adult kids, their partners, a beautiful and precocious grandchild and a grand-dog. They all are my thousand points of light that make up our anything-but-normal family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k3Nh8KVLMhM/WGkufXyKVwI/AAAAAAAADNs/bEk9J3-5Q0slWughfXtVsa_BEFcKAsvHgCEw/s1600/scream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k3Nh8KVLMhM/WGkufXyKVwI/AAAAAAAADNs/bEk9J3-5Q0slWughfXtVsa_BEFcKAsvHgCEw/s200/scream.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">However, lately I've found myself on the fence about things outside of heart, hearth and home. I've relatively successfully transitioned from being a skate mom to being a skating mom. (There is a difference - a slightly lower level of crazy and a somewhat higher level of respect.) I don't wear a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hair%20shirt" target="_blank">hair shirt</a> or flail about wailing at the loss of my previous life. I have other things to occupy my time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To a degree, however, that is my conundrum. </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m1yjcBU0JjE/WERJ-GXZ0UI/AAAAAAAADM0/dQbAlwN63wcGiP2SAY99mGbv6_quMLgSgCPcB/s1600/2017-prudential-u-s-figure-skating-championships-tickets_01-14-17_23_57e40da2aa328.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m1yjcBU0JjE/WERJ-GXZ0UI/AAAAAAAADM0/dQbAlwN63wcGiP2SAY99mGbv6_quMLgSgCPcB/s200/2017-prudential-u-s-figure-skating-championships-tickets_01-14-17_23_57e40da2aa328.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For the second straight year, I am heading to Nationals as a spectator and not a skate mom. It is an important season for all skaters hoping to make it to PyeongChang in 2018. This is a dress rehearsal, of sorts. This is the competition where skaters will start to jockey for position and show that they are worthy opponents on the frozen world stage. Of course, next year in San Jose everything will be on the line. This year, though, we will see who stands out - and stands up to the pressure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This year, however, I'm going not only for the standout stories, but for the ones that are lesser known, among them is competitor-turned coach-turned competitor again, Dennis Phan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The same age as my son, I watched Dennis compete for many years. He was a US National Champion at Junior and a Junior Grand Prix Gold Medalist. His last senior competition was Spokane in 2010. A beautiful, stylist, Dennis did shows and then turned to coaching. However, at 31 he felt he had not put a period at the end of his competitive sentence. Against odds, he began training again. He competed at Regionals and qualified. I watched him compete at Sectionals here in Colorado where he took Bronze. I watched him tear up with pride knowing that he had done something most adult skaters would not even dream of doing after not competing for six years. I will be there to watch him skate beautifully, for his family, friends, his coaches and himself. That will be a victory in a season of personal and professional growth. I, for one, will stand and applaud.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I will also cheer loudly for many others who continue to train hard, ignoring the sands of time that are inevitably sifting slowly to the bottom of the glass. These are the heroes of our sport. Some better known; some not. They exist in all disciplines and they continue to fight to do it their way against what others would consider insurmountable odds. They are the warriors, the soldiers and the cement that allows ice to take shape. They do not melt; they continue to add layers for the next generation of dreamers and doers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Why is this a conundrum for me? I should be there looking at the bigger picture, and I will most certainly be doing that. I will cheer for the men, ladies, pairs and dancers, most of whom I've known since they were mere babes on blades. My heart is with them as they make their statement about representing Team USA in 2018. I know what they are going through right now. It is all too familiar. It is a level of nerves that strikes me to the core. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> So, I'm taking stock of what matters to me right now, and that is seeing the lesser publicized stories play out on the ice in Kansas City. It's important to remember that each skater who earned a spot by qualifying through Regionals and Sectionals made a personal statement. They worked hard to get there and they deserve their moment, and our respect. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-45082008397606313612016-10-12T07:48:00.001-06:002016-10-12T18:20:45.487-06:00Take Note<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This entry has nothing (directly) to do with the presidential debates.<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">However, it has everything</span> to do with how one is perceived when in the company of others - and when one thinks they are not being watched, or heard.<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Today, <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">every<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">thing is under a microscope. There <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">isn't a move, a breath or a word that <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">doesn't fall under the glare of <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">some form of media, or that goes unnoticed<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">,</span> not only by steadfast f<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">riends but <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ardent critics. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I mention this to remind you that no one is <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">immune.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XXC6Aq2meYc/V_49biWuxrI/AAAAAAAADMA/On7aqT2Se5Ed5px2KDwEillUoFcJHii7ACEw/s1600/cartoon%2Bgossip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XXC6Aq2meYc/V_49biWuxrI/AAAAAAAADMA/On7aqT2Se5Ed5px2KDwEillUoFcJHii7ACEw/s200/cartoon%2Bgossip.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lately, I have h<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">a<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">d texts and messages from friends <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">who are <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">just beginning their foray into the frozen tundra. While two are not new to skating and have been involved on the athlete side, they <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">are now adjusting to the <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">slightly ill-fitting and uncomfortable role of being "skate mom." Like an expensive costume, it takes a number of adjustments until it feels (somewhat) <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">like something on<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">e can live with</span></span>. <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The comments to me outlined <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">not only <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">what was happening on th<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">e ice, but in the stands<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. Unguarded <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">s</span>nippets of conversation <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">were overheard<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> about other skaters, coaches and <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">parents<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There was <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">discussion of body type<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and weight<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">;</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">w</span>ho could do what <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">jumps and what was <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">under-rotated." This was coming from <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">parents of preliminary skaters. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I know that one blog <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">isn't going <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to
be a reason for behavior to stop, or even take a momentary pause. It is
part of the fabric of who we are as people. We talk. We observe<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. And, yes, we gossi<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">p. It gives us something to do<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. For some, <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">they use it it is used <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to establish the<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ir positio<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">n<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> of dominance within the "tribe." It is our nature. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z5UmNXSaDsY/V_49bfVqz7I/AAAAAAAADL0/gOekDIPs1jIwvnxjeh3mWpjdexGSbVJnACEw/s1600/Watching%2Byou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z5UmNXSaDsY/V_49bfVqz7I/AAAAAAAADL0/gOekDIPs1jIwvnxjeh3mWpjdexGSbVJnACEw/s200/Watching%2Byou.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But today</span>, nothing goes unnotice<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">d. There are virtually no secrets, no private conversations and <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">particularly no subtle gestures, glances or physical stances that <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">escape the eyes<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> - </span>or ears<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> -</span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">from </span>those <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">who are merely casual and amused narrators to those <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">whose <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">existence seems to be defined by</span></span> minutely reporting such things in great and somewhat lurid. There is no <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">casual conversat<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ion anymore<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">.It is all o<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">b<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">serve<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">d, scrutinized and reported <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">in some form. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You are not even safe in the bathroom<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. I have stood in many <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">lines during an ice <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">resurfac<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">e</span></span> overhearing conversations <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">about my skater. I<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">'ve sat in arenas next to <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">strangers</span> who have taken great pleasure in analyzing his every move, and have even made comments about <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">our</span> family. <i>(Those are the most fun<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">, particularly when I introduce myself<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and watch the display of 50 shades of red faces and a tumble of <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">nonsensical words and shallow apologies</span>.) </span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ICT6AgJw2sg/V_49bpw8iJI/AAAAAAAADME/SzFiWkzwqzcmzA6xNeZJ17xPcgYV7g99QCEw/s1600/stage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ICT6AgJw2sg/V_49bpw8iJI/AAAAAAAADME/SzFiWkzwqzcmzA6xNeZJ17xPcgYV7g99QCEw/s200/stage.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All of this brings me back to the debates<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. The spoken word<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> is powerful, but so is the ungu<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">arded one. The choreographed <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">gesture is not as noticed, or reported, as the <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">silent stance. <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When you step outside<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> your private enclave, you <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">step on stage and there is a spotlight just waiting to follow you. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The cautionary words of a Stephen Sondheim so<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ng from "Into the Woods" <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">drives home <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">my point.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="verse" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>How do you say to your child in the night?<br />
Nothing's all black, but then nothing's all white<br />
How do you say it will all be all right<br />
When you know that it might not be true?<br />
What do you do?</div>
<div class="verse" style="text-align: center;">
Careful the things you say<br />
Children will listen<br />
Careful the things you do<br />
Children will see and learn<br />
Children may not obey, but children will listen<br />
Children will look to you for which way to turn</div>
<div class="verse" style="text-align: center;">
To learn what to be<br />
Careful before you say "Listen to me"<br />
Children will listen<br />
Careful the wish you make<br />
Wishes are children<br />
Careful the path they take<br />
Wishes come true, not free</div>
<div class="verse" style="text-align: center;">
<b>Careful the spell you cast<br />
Not just on children<br />
Sometimes a spell may last<br />
Past what you can see<br />
And turn against you</b><br />
Careful the tale you tell<br />
That is the spell<br />
Children will listen</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i7bNOuBqrFM/V_4_AnW6qrI/AAAAAAAADMQ/4aAtBu8gYAUauQTHhv2wzG-dGYHkMFxngCLcB/s1600/883594c6ac220d096a7594ac454fcbfc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-i7bNOuBqrFM/V_4_AnW6qrI/AAAAAAAADMQ/4aAtBu8gYAUauQTHhv2wzG-dGYHkMFxngCLcB/s320/883594c6ac220d096a7594ac454fcbfc.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Everyone is watching. Everyone is listening. As my actor grandfather was fond of saying, "There are no small parts, just small actors." Nothing goes unnoticed. <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nothing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-24412011131420007362016-07-09T21:39:00.000-06:002016-07-10T16:25:43.085-06:00Nothing But The Truth - From My Perspective<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Since 2009, when I began writing "Life on the Edge of Skating," the intent was to have it be from my perspective as a skating mother following the journey from the stands, imparting Yoda-like wisdom along the way and seasoning it with a large dose of humor. What it has always been about, however, is perspective. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1m2HVLCLlIQLZ2v42Y0SSS3oDOx9MUDVE5W5j0EA9GRq9Fyc7OQGo-LlFDAgqB_KOZE0LL-qJqQDhZaSQbku6Meg5zzLrehlKoo5osVPkQxnitGWTPfvZ5w0sShhKN5NNbS2Kps8saw/s1600/quote-in-this-world-nothing-can-be-said-to-be-certain-except-death-and-taxes-benjamin-franklin-65379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU1m2HVLCLlIQLZ2v42Y0SSS3oDOx9MUDVE5W5j0EA9GRq9Fyc7OQGo-LlFDAgqB_KOZE0LL-qJqQDhZaSQbku6Meg5zzLrehlKoo5osVPkQxnitGWTPfvZ5w0sShhKN5NNbS2Kps8saw/s320/quote-in-this-world-nothing-can-be-said-to-be-certain-except-death-and-taxes-benjamin-franklin-65379.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">There is a fine line between perspective and truth. Unfortunately, we are seeing that in every aspect of our lives these days. Except for death and taxes, there is little else that is absolute truth; the rest is how you perceive it to be - it's your truth because you're living it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Thus it is with skating - and with moving on. The "truth" is (at least for me) the transition from being a skating mom to being whatever-it-is I am now has been much simpler than I thought. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Don't misunderstand. I still love skating with a deep and abiding passion, it's just that my perspective has changed. Instead of looking from the inside out through frosted windows where everything has a fun house mirror effect, my perspective has broadened. I don't find myself automatically turning onto the road where the rink is when I'm driving past. As a matter of fact, I rarely think about it any more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> I rarely go to competitions, except for Nationals which is an annual (slightly dysfunctional) "family reunion" that I wouldn't miss for the world, unless other things in life get in the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Okay, I have to come clean. Truth: </span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I am still wearing the earrings my skater gave me when he was seven years old - the ones I said I would retire when he finished competing. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I can't bear to pack away the years of costumes that still occupy too much space in a closet. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I still watch YouTube videos. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I still stand and cheer. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I still occasionally cry. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I am always and forever grateful and proud. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I will always and forever be a skating mom. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Every
E ticket paid out provided a thrilling ride.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"> Every friend I've made
along the way has given me far more than I could ever give
them. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Everything that's happened has shaped us into the people we are
and the family we continue to be. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SzZxcJDRfYo/V4HBeGdQY9I/AAAAAAAADLU/QkV12znnhM0Wo_LQStI5HTcxeVRJd9jTACLcB/s1600/giphy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SzZxcJDRfYo/V4HBeGdQY9I/AAAAAAAADLU/QkV12znnhM0Wo_LQStI5HTcxeVRJd9jTACLcB/s320/giphy.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And that's the truth - at least from my perspective.</span><br />
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<br />Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-91737757011474650382016-04-03T15:23:00.005-06:002016-04-24T21:16:22.980-06:00All The World's a Stage - Final Thoughts on Boston 2016<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: block; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm not sure I have "final thoughts" on Worlds 2016. I'll leave that to the people who were actually there. All I can say is that having it in the US and having it in Boston was the BIGGEST shot in the arm skating could have received in our country.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Everyone brought an A Game. It didn't matter where they ended up in the rankings, they earned their way there through years of hard work. My hope is that they'll take away a lot of pride, as well as things to work on for the future. In som<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">e cases, the immediate pain of not meeting their expectations will hopefully pass into the realm of Lessons Learned and they will move forward.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.32px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">For all those skaters and coaches who will go back to the drawing board as we head in to year three of the quadrennial and the march to PyeongChang, remember every moment in Boston - good and bad - and use it to build on your strengths. After all, this is a sport you do; it is not who you are. Good or bad, it only defines you as a person if you allow it to do so. How you view yourself is the only thing that matters in life - on and off the frozen ponds and white-hot glares of the outside world. That is your ultimate "A Game," and it lasts long after the ice melts.</span></span></span></div>
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Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-20160770992231413562016-03-20T11:22:00.000-06:002016-03-20T11:22:00.286-06:00Turn, Turn, Turn<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QWp0UvLcmYQ/Vu7ZJsE_hhI/AAAAAAAADJQ/oXORqeMj26ce7V2pZugOK8sVQT6SdI-IA/s1600/quote%2Bfrom%2Byogi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QWp0UvLcmYQ/Vu7ZJsE_hhI/AAAAAAAADJQ/oXORqeMj26ce7V2pZugOK8sVQT6SdI-IA/s320/quote%2Bfrom%2Byogi.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I haven't had a lot to say lately about skating. As a matter of fact, my last blog was in January. Friends have asked, "Aren't you going to keep writing?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Maybe. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eX-2yUs_9GI/Vu7XlpA_3LI/AAAAAAAADI0/SDNV0ML_evoS-bJ4Mgb0V6VWiUO-8L7Tw/s1600/12552504_10208463699974465_3310048808819047229_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eX-2yUs_9GI/Vu7XlpA_3LI/AAAAAAAADI0/SDNV0ML_evoS-bJ4Mgb0V6VWiUO-8L7Tw/s320/12552504_10208463699974465_3310048808819047229_n.jpg" width="252" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">When I started this diary of a mad skating mom back in 2009, there was a lot to say, and I thought it was going to be more of a journal than an autobiography, of sorts. What happened some 308 pages later (yes, I know because I actually put my blogs into print) was a chronicle of experiences that amazed and astounded me. It was born out of a pressing need to let people know what it was like to be on this journey. It was cathartic to sit for hours on end, albeit in short bursts, and write about our exploits, observations, highs and lows. It was therapy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But being on the outside looking in this year, I have to say I'm having a difficult time finding my voice. No "Go Alexander" has reverberated off the walls at competition from my husband. Nary a butterfly has flitted by begging for attention. Hyperbole has been left to other practitioners while I have stood silent sentry. (Okay, so that's a bit melodramatic but it sounded good.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Bottom line: I've been trying to find my new new skating "identity." I went to St. Paul and found it incredibly awkward to be sitting in the center of the arena in the 7th row after 20+ years in my precious Lutz corner. I watched some inspired skating. I reconnected with a number of longtime friends and met some new ones that I've only interacted with on Twitter and Facebook. I spent a lot of time hugging, kissing and being part of a wonderful, quirky and slightly dysfunctional "family reunion." It felt as if I had donned a new wardrobe that was like a slightly ill-fitting suit; you know, the one where you like the look, but the pants are too short or the jacket too tight.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M9oy88Wz02M/Vu7YLv62XNI/AAAAAAAADI4/F5FawJaWg9AunUYl2hmWRSkLlAQG-jobQ/s1600/946790_10208399902339564_1048155204372362201_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M9oy88Wz02M/Vu7YLv62XNI/AAAAAAAADI4/F5FawJaWg9AunUYl2hmWRSkLlAQG-jobQ/s200/946790_10208399902339564_1048155204372362201_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I know I've talked for a long time about switching from my best Erma Bombeck style of writing to channeling my other favorite and entertainingly caustic writer, Anthony Bourdain. No matter how I try, I'm finding it's not in my nature. Sure, I could take potshots at a LOT of things - and a number of people - in and around skating. I just can't bring myself to do that. For every time I get angry,frustrated and cynical, there are those times that I look back in utter disbelief that I've been given this gift and a chance to share it all with you.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxkDq_1AymxdDVcXbJbgujDa6JoAsnvZKCwvkSqD6ACQm5IpGyOTqKO2h7EZ95yomjLWjkxpwqKgxn1nlfe7A_7i5Sy7viIK-LqvWpzaPFTAZqp3LlfBk_9oxVAxiv-E8VRZ1rkjg43s/s1600/1024px-PyeongChang_2018_Winter_Olympics.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxkDq_1AymxdDVcXbJbgujDa6JoAsnvZKCwvkSqD6ACQm5IpGyOTqKO2h7EZ95yomjLWjkxpwqKgxn1nlfe7A_7i5Sy7viIK-LqvWpzaPFTAZqp3LlfBk_9oxVAxiv-E8VRZ1rkjg43s/s200/1024px-PyeongChang_2018_Winter_Olympics.svg.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Next week will be the end of the second Quadrennial - that's two years of the four between Winter Olympics. I know what it's like to be a parent going through this time. I was blessed (or cursed, if you count the boxes of consumed antacids) to do it twice. The anticipation is palpable. Expectations are sky-high. 2018 seems like it is as far away as another galaxy, and about as incomprehensible. It isn't. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Believe me, I know. </span>2018 will become the number of seeming seconds before the Nationals that will determine our Olympic skating team for Pyeongchang. It's right around the corner, and while it will not mean another trip for me as a skating parent (though I hope to go as a volunteer), it is the year I will retire from my job and move into the next chapter of my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I suppose that is part of why I haven't had much to say. Life seems to be writing those chapters. At this point, I'm the annoying backseat driver who keeps trying to put the pedal to the metal or apply the imaginary break; in reality, I'm only along for the ride.To be brutally honest, that's what I've always been - along for the ride. </span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LPYIybe5AQM/Vu7YrsNr02I/AAAAAAAADJE/qJa6AK6ShRMnhMluen7EuXAi6EcKdtHfA/s1600/330px-Roger_McGuinn_-_Natick%252C_MA_%25282011%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LPYIybe5AQM/Vu7YrsNr02I/AAAAAAAADJE/qJa6AK6ShRMnhMluen7EuXAi6EcKdtHfA/s200/330px-Roger_McGuinn_-_Natick%252C_MA_%25282011%2529.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The other night I was watching PBS and there was a show on featuring folk and rock singers from the 60's. I was about to turn it off when out walked <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_McGuinn" target="_blank">Roger McGuinn</a> of The Byrds. I went to Chicago Latin School with Roger (then Jim). He was a senior when I was in 7th grade and he performed many times in class assemblies. Roger looked amazing and his voice still had a wonderful resonance to it. He started playing the iconic <a href="https://youtu.be/eiprqeaydik" target="_blank">"Turn, Turn, Turn." </a>Of course, in the 1960's the lyrics had another purpose behind them. However, now the words from The Book of Ecclesiastes made me reflect on where I am now in my life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To those skaters, coaches and parents either at the start or nearing the end of your journey, I have only one thing to say: Enjoy the process and be kind to one another along the way. Skating is a difficult sport. Don't get caught up in what others may say about you on line or in print. Stay above it, if you can. Be the best athlete, coach and parent you can be because that's all you can strive for in life. Pay it back when you can; always pay it forward because that's an obligation you should have to everything in life. And when the time comes, decide how you want to be remembered by those around you. That's the only important thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So, please forgive me if I don't write as much any more. I won't stop, but it will be less frequent. It's a turn of events that was as inevitable as growing older - and hopefully wiser. Thank you for your understanding. </span><br />
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Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-60309364247336277742016-01-02T11:30:00.000-07:002016-01-02T18:04:58.549-07:00We Are Family<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GSaUOe1wCck/VogTfb2otyI/AAAAAAAADIE/jZXqYETHgIE/s1600/2016_USFSC_Spotlight_610x320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GSaUOe1wCck/VogTfb2otyI/AAAAAAAADIE/jZXqYETHgIE/s320/2016_USFSC_Spotlight_610x320.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am going to St. Paul for Nationals. This decision did not come easily since our skater is not competing. On the other hand, all the stars aligned with nothing critical scheduled for that weekend at work, with excellent airfare, tickets and company offered by a good friend who won tickets in our auction benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Kismet.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyesSej5iAQ8NvKplUQ6EDh62uodXYzkdGn_YBIn2ZFSVAvlRICsJZ8x9Npj75h_N7bgGDYZ-0VyPl9NQTsLZSG4PGYDIBU5w6Wm4VGp9ObVZqYGeVn6C-aNvLWs57n8yv733g_wZrgEM/s1600/messaging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyesSej5iAQ8NvKplUQ6EDh62uodXYzkdGn_YBIn2ZFSVAvlRICsJZ8x9Npj75h_N7bgGDYZ-0VyPl9NQTsLZSG4PGYDIBU5w6Wm4VGp9ObVZqYGeVn6C-aNvLWs57n8yv733g_wZrgEM/s200/messaging.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I posted on social media that I was going and it was like opening floodgates. Suddenly, everyone of my friends responded. From fans to coaches, skaters and media people the replies were the same. "That's so exciting! I can't wait to get together!" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">That got me to thinking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I'm an only child. Growing up, I was primarily raised with adults who were in the entertainment industry. I didn't have siblings, though I did have a step brother and sister I saw infrequently and for very short periods of time. My family world revolved around my parents, their friends and their friends' children. I had my friends at elementary and secondary school, then at university. They all came and went with the wind and I understand that. Lives change; interests change. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It may surprise some of you that I am somewhat of an introvert. Yes, that is greatly at odds with what I do for a living; it is, however, something I learned at a young age being raised in a media family. When you are home, you can be yourself. However, when you are in public, it's Show Time! You're "on," no matter what. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I mention all of this only because it puts in perspective the amount of surprise I felt with the reaction I received to my simple statement of attending my 14th US National Championships, and only the second without a "horse in the race," so to speak - the first being St. Louis when we attended because it was an Olympic year and we were in the first alternate slot. Tickets had been purchased and we wanted to see how different the vibe was when skaters were laying it all on the line for a trip to The Mountain. This made me realize that I was now a member of a like-minded, occasionally (okay, more than occasionally) dysfunctional family of people who look forward to this frozen reunion in places that are many times difficult to reach, are always expensive but are undoubtedly exciting and certainly fun. Like all families, there's that weird member you could do without seeing, but for the most part it is a time to renew acquaintances and recharge the soul. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A good friend of mine, whom I don't see nearly enough, posted on Facebook today:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> "I've heard it said<br /> That people come into our lives for a reason<br /> Bringing something we must learn<br /> And we are led<br /> To those who help us most to grow<span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> If we let them . . ."</span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show">No truer words have ever been spoken when it comes to skating. Everyone I have met, interacted with; those I have kept close and those I have let go, have all taught me something - not only about the sport, but about myself as a person. I have grown a lot in the past 27 years of being on both the inside and outside edge. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show">So, I will pack my bags, my hat, scarf, boots and heart and head to St. Paul. After all, I cannot think of anything better than having another chance to laugh, drink wine, cheer and hug. For those of you whom I will see at the Xcel Center in a few weeks, consider yourself warned: I'm that "crazy aunt" who will happily hold you close and give you a kiss, whether you want it or not. After all, we are family.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show">See you in St. Paul! </span></span></div>
Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998600291486243555.post-7111904611969378232015-11-08T14:33:00.001-07:002015-11-08T14:34:05.641-07:00The Most Tangible of Intangible Assets<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We are half way through the Grand Prix. Though I have no intensely personal reason to watch since I have no "horse in the race", so to speak, I've been fascinated by what is going on, as well as what isn't - at least in my view. I haven't been able to define my sense of uneasiness. It's intangible; illusive. I can't put my finger it. I</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> just continually feel like a character in Samuel Becket's tragicomedy <a href="http://www.enotes.com/topics/waiting-for-godot" target="_blank">"Waiting for Godot."</a></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/chDj5AfgRUE" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="https://youtu.be/chDj5AfgRUE" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K01-Hh2wJgg/Vj-BB8xjU2I/AAAAAAAADGs/nmNj7oFxfiQ/s320/ISU%252BGrand%252BPrix%252BFigure%252BSkating%252BDay%252B1%252BmeA-t1BkSAcl.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from Zimbio.Click for video.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But this week in China, when <a href="https://youtu.be/chDj5AfgRUE" target="_blank">Javier Fernandez</a> went back to his roots in a short program that blew me away, the light went on. His skate was a tour de force, not for the technical prowess, which was certainly there, but for the pure emotion he displayed and the connection he had with his homeland and its music. It was beautifully choreographed, but it was so much more than that. It was emotional. It was born out of a deep-rooted understanding of the soul of the music, and for just short of three minutes he took me on his journey. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now I had a tangible reason for my apparent apathy. With so many of the competitors this season I was seeing little that made me want to get up to watch at all hours of the day and night. Jumps, spins, transitions and footwork, for the most part have been quite impressive. However, I found myself content to view the videos on line. But even then, watching on my computer after the fact, what I was seeing didn't move me to generally love - well - what I was seeing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Just to be sure I wasn't being "that mom" who only cares about watching my skater and no one else, I decided to go back again to some of this year's Senior B competitions, as well as all the videos so far from Grand Prix. Whether competitors were on the podium or not, what I found myself drawn to was their eyes. After all, the eyes are the windows to the soul. The eyes make the connection. They speak volumes without a single word. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">Here's the wide range of what they said to me:</span><br />
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<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I LOVE TO SKATE! </span></em><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Come join me on my journey</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">You don't have to love me but you have to watch me skate because I'm awesome</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm tossing my hair so I'm emoting</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If I throw my arms around enough I'll look like I'm emoting</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I haven't got a CLUE why I'm skating to this music</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm pretending to like my partner</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm bored</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm scared </span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm concentrating so hard I can feel smoke coming out of my ears</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Don't look at the audience. Don't look at the audience...crud, I looked. Now what?</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm going to survive this</span></em></li>
<li><em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">PLEASE let this be over</span></em></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";">I know the season is just getting started. After 26 years, I know how difficult this sport is and how incredibly hard all these skaters work. However, as a lifelong lover of skating, all I ask is this: If you truly have a passion for what you do, show us - not with a phony point, a choreographed ultra-white grin and uncomfortable-looking wiggle, but with a depth and a confidence that says, "I get it." I don't ask for much. Look me in the eye and give something of yourself that is more than you even knew you had. Show me your soul, not just your score. Trust me to love you for it. If you do, no matter the outcome, I promise I'll watch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"></span><br />Ateam On The Edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18126944544564671835noreply@blogger.com0