Another Year

Ever wonder why everybody celebrates New Year in January? For me at least, everything is starting again NOW.  The calendar might say September, which might only be another month, but instead, once again I fill my time. Is this the last year of the same? Is this a start of something new? Maybe an end? All of those combined? Really time keeps flowing: we live until we die. We don't start a year perfectly fresh, but with all the past experiences, whether joyful, or sorrowful, we continue on. Someday might be the last, but for now, keep it up, you've only just begun!

Lawn Mowing Fun

"Just a spoonful of sugar" sings Mary Poppins in the movie, "Helps the medicine, go down, the medicine, go down." But really, try it. Have fun in everything you do, and in so doing, the "job's a game." My favorite way to have fun while mowing the lawn is to make shapes and squiggles and zig zags in the grass. Not only does it look pretty amazing, but it adds variety to the monotonous back-and-forth of "regular" mowing. So take the spoonful of sugar, and the job will go by twice as fast. Jazz life up and try something new, because fun isn't just for kids.

Nature's Heroes

During the 4 hour car ride for my recent vacation, I decided to write a poem about the forests of dead, decaying, and regenerating trees. Thought it turned out kind of cool.

I pass a field of fallen heroes
Broken and battled, but still standing
Through fires and storms
They still provide a bird's landing

Beaten and weary,
The poor remainder,
Survivors of nature's fury
The once proud contenders

Ambassadors of the forest,
Having lost their colors
No more mothers
No more fathers

Returning to the ground
From whence they came
Giving room to newcomers
To take on the name
  
Oak, Maple, Beech and Pine
Which once stood high, proud and fine.
Years, decades, of regeneration
Leads to renewal, life, resurrection

Andrew J. Mattson

underwater

So I haven't posted in over a month. That doesn't mean I have nothing to say, quite the contrary. I have so much going on that nothing stands out to write about.

But regardless of all that, I deciding to go with the Olympic/sport theme. I used to be a swimmer. I like to say I am "retired," rather than "quit," it sounds better, but that is another future post.

I think most people don't know the intensity of swimming. I give props to the athletes in the world hardest sport. It's true. Swimming is completely unnatural to us humans. In the Olympics it seems to be an exciting, seemingly short race, that we, not in the water, can have fun speculating about. Will so-and-so be able to pull ahead at the 200? or can so-and-so successfully hold off the competitors on the anchor of the relay? Watch the race people! These PEOPLE are not horses.... and you have truly NO idea what they go through every day.

Think about it. Take Michael Phelps. 2012 was his fourth olympics. Phelps has been training for ONE THING for 20 years. Getting up at 4 something, swimming, and getting home again all before the sun comes up in the morning. Trudging into AM practices in the middle of winter, when you jump into the pool and it takes you the whole 2 hour practice just to get warm. Seeing your friends having fun, and constantly having to refuse a social life in the form of the perpetual "No, I have practice." Singing the same thing over and over again in your head (because you can't say anything to the other people in the pool, due to your head being underwater the whole time other than the 20 seconds every five minutes), in beat to your stroke tempo..... BA da da da BA da da da BA da DA DA..... and repeat for 2 hours. Oh and another 2 hours tonight. While doing this there is a constant wheeshshshshshhh from the water flowing past your head that amplifies every thought you have. There is no form of encouragement other the Coach's staggered whistles: no music, no teammates to talk to..... Though to tell the truth I have carried on conversations over 10x400 IMs when you see your lane mate 10 times for 10-20 seconds over an hour and a half. Self-encouragement is ok. Phelps has done it for 20 years.

I tip my hat to you swimmers out there. You're a beast.

And I can end my rant about commentators on swimming. I put my head back underwater.