It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog, although I’ve not ignored it on purpose. It seems as though I always have more work to do than time to do it, so that leaves very little opportunity for sharing here. But I keep getting notifications that new people are following this blog and I feel like I’m being extra terrible by not saying hello and thank you to them, and to everyone, for their support.
So, “Hello.”
And “Thank you!”
🙂
As far as work goes, I’ve been making a lot of videos. Since I do them all myself, there are a lot of pieces and parts to coordinate. Here are one of my most recent and biggest productions:
You’ll find all manner of family and friends in these videos – if you know me and it’s video-making time, you never know when I’ll ask you to be my next star 🙂
I’ve also been writing lots of articles for Clean Run magazine, including several well-received editorials, which is nice. I’ve also got a regular series on agility-vehicles, and I’ve written several “one-off” articles as well. Writing editorials is one of my absolute favorite forms of work, so I’ve been really fortunate to get that opportunity this year.
In other news, we are coming up on what I’m calling our “accidentiversary.” It’s been nearly a year since the accident that greatly impacted our lives. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please check out When Great Swimmers Drown, which you might want to share with your friends as swimming season approaches, and the follow-up, appropriately titled The Aftermath.
After the accident, The Girl was cleared to return to the pool to swim at the Junior Olympics, which was a huge blessing for us. But, out of an abundance of caution, the doctor withdrew that permission at the beginning of the fall swimming season as he and his staff continued with various tests. Giving up her spot on the synchronized swimming team was devastating. She lost her goals, a good chunk of her identity, her dreams, her routine, and her closest friends (although we’ve tried to stay in touch). I too have lost some of the same. It’s been a very hard year.
Because neither of us like to mope around or settle, we pushed to find another sport that would work for her. She tried out for a level 1 gymnastics team and was accepted. She worked hard at being a gymnast but could see that she was going to be held back by her lack of upper body strength. She gave it her best effort and did great at two in-house meets but she just didn’t have the drive or love for it like she did synchro. But then we found Trampoline and Tumbling, a sport that falls under the arm of USA Gymnastics. It involves two different types of trampolines and floor work. It is a much smaller sport than artistic gymnastics, with friendly coaches and small groups that feel a little more like “home” for her, and she’s progressing rapidly. She tried out for the level 2 team and made it, so we are hoping that next year will involve more athletics and meets and physical challenges for her to work toward and enjoy.
I would have never imaged the struggles and fears that we would face as a family since the accident occurred. I firmly believe that in the end we’ll all be better people, but it’s a process.
More to come….
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