"This is family business, and this is for the family who can't be with us."
The past couple weeks have been filled with tiredness, some stress and not nearly as much physical activity as planned. Life happened.
A week and a half ago, my Uncle Willie lost his battle with cancer. Or as his pastor said, he has now beat cancer and is cancer free. The positive of course is he is at peace. We have been processing this as it all happened so quickly, in just 6 short weeks. We had limited time as a family, and it has been very difficult on my Dad. The memorial service was last Saturday, and it was really a wonderful tribute to his life. I learned, or was rather reminded, that Willie was one of the nicest people you would ever meet. Someone who everyone liked, and who introduced my parents to one another. Dad spoke at the service and did a great job. The biggest positive from an extremely sad situation was what my Dad shared, that in light of a terrible situation the positive that resulted was our family reuniting with extended family we had lost touch with. Silver lining. Life is too short to not love the time we have with family, and we won't take that for granted. I'll race for those loved ones I'll always hold in my heart, in their beloved memory.
It has been a busy time at work, the non-profit 4th quarter. Long hours have cut a bit into my Andrea time aka training. So as Philly Tri or Tri Rock Philly rapidly approached, nerves were setting in and excitement was not overwhelmingly there. My best training partner reminded me that we do tri's for the love of the sport, for fun. So true, and accepted what would undoubtedly be a tough day to share with a lot of close friends. Entered the weekend very tired, after a long week and after an emotional day. Didn't put a lot of pressure on myself. Silver lining: no real expectations, that resulted in a 3-minute PR on Sunday and the best Olympic swim I've had to date. It hurt and wasn't exactly easy, but I channeled my Uncle during the swim (my least favorite) and during the most challenging parts of the day (the second half of the run in the heat). Putting things into perspective, and racing for others is why I fell I love with triathlon to begin with.
The result of the weekend = time with those I love, for better or worse. Getting together with my family on Saturday is always a great thing, even if for sad reasons. Getting in touch with more cousins is amazing, and I hope to keep and maintain the great bonds I've recently began to form. And Sunday was a day with my triathlon family, a group of people who are a huge support network and some of my dearest friends. Sharing first races with two good friends, Alyssa and Kevin, was amazing. Racing with some of my tri buddies is always wonderful, and sharing another weekend with one of my closest and most valued friends, Doreen, is something I will always treasure.
Tonight I did recovery yoga with Tara. At the end, our instructor asked us to close our eyes in prayer pose and fill in the blank for "today I feel lucky for ___"...and all I could think was my friends and family. And then I smiled. Even though the whole weekend wasn't filled with happy things, in the end everything has led to happiness in one way or another. And although tired from it, I feel blessed and very lucky.
One of my favorite Dave songs has been stuck in my head because it's fitting in so many ways lately..."Celebrate we will, 'cause life is short but sweet for certain."
“This is what I believe to be true. You have to do everything you can. You have to work your hardest. And if you do, if you stay positive, then you have a shot at a silver lining.”
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