Reps For Dayz

Posted on November 19, 2015 by tosabarbell
reps

Gratuitous picture of Lidia Valentin

I had a nice birds eye view last weekend in the warm-up room before I lifted. We had 13 girls (lucky 13 on Friday the 13th;) lift and three of us were opening in the Snatch after the other lifters were almost complete with all three of their attempts. That means that there was a lot of downtime for me while others were warming up.

Now, I remember last year at my local meet when I noticed one woman in my group who started warming up a half and hour before our session was to begin and her opener was a couple of kilos under mine. Uhhhhhhh, dudette, we won’t be taking our first attempt until around 10:30…whaz up?

At that meet, I got on the Airdyne around 15 minutes before our session was to start. From there, I didn’t touch a bar for another 25 minutes. My warm ups take about 7 minutes and from there I take about four lifts before my opener. Now (hopefully) this may change as I increase my lifts. I may throw one more light one in there. Time will tell.

But just as in Milwaukee, the amount of reps taken by most lifters in Savannah shocked me. Now, there were a few lifters who were very deliberate in their warm-ups. One woman in my class who has just finished cancer treatment (yeah, have I said yet how amazing these women were?) was lifting very conservatively and was coached by Michael Cohen (lucky girl.) They were across the gym from my platform and he had tight control of her warm-ups while remaining very positive and supportive (again, lucky girl.)

Another girl was lifting without a coach and while I didn’t see what she was doing the whole time, she seemed to have her reps put in place. At the very least, she wasn’t pulling every time I looked over.

But OyVey, some of the women took more reps in their warm up than I even take in a training session. One woman next to me worked up to just one kilo less than her 1st attempt and came right back to the platform to take reps in between her attempts.

Now, yes, I understand that it’s necessary at times to take a rep in between attempts. I saw Michael Cohen do it earlier in the day during his session. However; as most of us lifters (seems coaches haven’t realized this yet) know, that rep is taken at a much lighter weight and we know we have at least “x” minutes before our next attempt. We’re not going to go back to the warm up area and start lifting higher than our first attempt when our second is going to be in about 90 seconds. Yes, I’m serious.

reps1

Melanie Roach always looks so happy when she lifts!

The woman on my platform took reps in between her attempts and by the end of the session, she looked like she’d been through a war. Congratulations, you’ve just lifted the equivalent of three weightlifting meets, how the fuck are ya?! As nice as both she and her coach were, I wanted to scream SIT DOWN FOR GAWDS SAKES! 

After we were done and Matt and I were driving to dinner (The Crab Shack on Tybee Island was the place Michael Cohen sent us and he was spot on. It was fun and delicious and perfect.) Anyways. I told Matt about how many reps the ladies were taking in the back and he said, ‘It showed. People were tired.’ I imagine they were.

And since I’m bagging on coaches a little bit…

reps2

I adore watching Jim Harbaugh lose his shit on a regular basis but no way would I want to be coached by him.

…let’s talk about intense coaches.

In general, I’m a pretty calm coach. Sure, I’ll get stern and may bark a bit if the weight is heavy enough and the cue is important enough that I need to ensure my lifter hears my voice but I approach competition as relaxed as I can. Throwing has helped me with that. The tighter and more intense I feel, the crappier (it’s totally a word) I throw. So I relax, the power is there and it will be drawn upon when needed. I can get myself fired up without the band aids of music or pacing or being a cunty bitch to others. It’s how I roll. It’s funny to me when people in the throwing world tell me I’m so intense (like it’s a bad thing?) How I interpret that is that I give a shit on how I throw so I may not join in their reindeer games along the sidelines and that’s seen as a bad thing. *Shrug*

So when I see coaches in a warm up area pacing back and forth so tense it seems their heads are going to pop off at any second, I stay far away from them. I want no part of that energy, it sucks the life out of a room. I’d rather be uncoached for the rest of my days than put up with something like that. This is a meet, the ground work has been laid, it’s go time. I’ll watch the monitor/table for you and tell you calmly when you need to take a rep. I won’t stalk over to you like Big Deloris and tersely say, “NOW, go NOW.” JHMFC dude, sit down and have a sammich, you’re wound tighter than the lifter who already is looking nervous.

So here’s my observation; warming up at a meet is approached the same was as training in a commercial gym, head down and focused on your own shit. I was pleased I got to meet some very nice ladies and even give some ‘atta girls’ when they did well and they did the same for me. That’s cool and not very common in my experience of weightlifting. I stayed relaxed, kept my warm ups to the minimum and went 6 for 6 for the first time in a meet.

But I only took 5 snatch warm ups before my first attempt and three of those were very light. I took five warm-ups for my C&J opener of 75kg and two of those were 45kg. That’s 16 lifts overall on the day and my body was extremely tired the next day. I have no clue how the women who took about 40 attempts (think I’m exaggerating?) felt. Uff.

Ask any athlete: We all hurt at times. I’m asking my body to go through 7 different tasks. To ask it not to ache would be too much.

Jackie Joyner-Kersey

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

80 to 20 and Everything In Between

Posted on November 18, 2015 by tosabarbell

20

As some of you may know, I competed at the Masters American Weightlifting Championships last weekend in Savannah, Georgia. We flew out Wednesday morning in order to hit town and attend the technical meeting on Wednesday night.

Now, I realize that many weren’t at the meeting and perhaps it’s silly to go in early for it; however; this was my first National level weightlifting meet and I wanted to make sure I knew what was going on from the get go.

Walking into the Cohen-Anderson Weightlifting Center was like stepping back in time. This was a true training hall. Olympians train here (actually, Olympian’s run it.) The old York plates,

20york

 give a feeling of the history of the lifters in this gym. At one point, after Howard Cohen was going through some introductions and we were waiting for the final schedule, I looked at Matt and said, “I don’t know if I’m prepared to lift here.” This was special. These people are special and hold a solid place in the history of Weightlifting. Blame the Hawaiian in me, when I attend such things, I want to bring honor to them.

Nonetheless, I was there and I was there to lift my best on that day. As it turns out, our session WAS moved up so I was very happy I was there to have a handle on that. After the meeting, we headed out for some great southern cooking at Sweet Potatoes and back to the hotel for some rest.

Thursday was a day we had half planned and decided to wing the other half. I really wanted to watch the first session of women lift and lucky for me, Matt was game so he came with me where the concession stand ladies (Howard Cohen’s wife among them) took it as their personal mission to ensure that he had enough food. Heh.

20elsa

Have you ever seen an 80 year old woman Snatch and Clean&Jerk? No? I have! All of the women brought such great energy and tenacity to each lift, I have rarely been so inspired in all my life. I was able to talk briefly to a few of the lifters and I hope to never forget these conversations. One lifter, whom we spoke to back at the hotel, is a little over a year out from a double knee replacement and though her lifts aren’t where she wants them to be, she put a huge smile on her face and said, But at least I can lift! Just typing that gave me chicken skin. When you find people who are so thankful for lifting, you’ve found role models.

Another lifter, Jane Black, out of Coffee’s gym showed such energy and spirit in her lifts. Her congratulations to me the next day and the fist bumps from she and her lifter meant the world to me. Class, personified. I adored these women.

When we were done at the meet, we headed downtown for lunch and found the Pirate’s House. A fried green tomato BLT was my splurge up until that point and let me tell you, as good as it was, I felt as if I’d just ate about 12 pounds of food. I’m pretty sure the earth shook with each step. I was about two degrees south of outright misery. We walked along the River and enjoyed the sunny day and after a while I just wanted to go lay down.

Now, early last spring in the throwing season, I did the same thing in Hawaii. I enjoyed enough beach time, relaxing patio time, and Mai Tai’s that by the time I was walking up to the throwing field I thought to myself, uh-oh; I am in no way prepared for a physical outing here. I was too relaxed. Too bogged down by drinks and sun I was in no way ready to throw out in the heat all day.

That is exactly how I felt walking towards the ancient stairs to head back up to the car. Bogged down. Slow. Heavy. As we started up the stairs, I stopped; looked up, and headed right back down. Matt turned around and asked if everything was okay. I say,”Yup, but I’m going to run those stairs.” And I did. Seven times. The stairs were hidden enough that I could do this without being a glaring attention whore and yet get this necessary work in.

And it worked. In fact, I had told myself I was going to do five rounds. But after number 5 I still felt heavy, so I went to 8 in my mind. After 7 I got to the top, looked at Matt and said, “I’m good.” At some point when I was still flying around Matt said, ‘when people ask me how my wife kicks ass I’ll just tell them because when we’re on vacation and she doesn’t feel ready for competition, she runs stairs.’ I thought that was sweet.

Now I was ready. I felt much better. I made sure those twenty steps (not very many really) were springy and explosive and I wouldn’t quit until the last one. A little later we headed back to Sweet Potatoes Kitchen for pre-meet dinner. The dinners were exactly what was needed. Meat and Potatoes that weren’t heavy.

Now I was ready.

I had a decent meet, I hit my conservative openers and that was the goal. I’m now qualified to register for some high level Master’s meets in 2016 and that’s why we went.

And now it’s time to get to work. I feel very fortunate that I have Mike Westerling’s help with programming of the lifts and throwing. I’m already training smarter, even in a deload week. Thanks to my friend, Paulie, out in Brooklyn who hooked me up with the Renaissance Periodization diet I can begin to get rid of the extra 30 pounds I’m carrying.

I’m not nearly as tired as I was a week ago and I’m feeling far more optimistic about this off-season than I have been the last month. I have some pretty lofty goals for 2016 but I feel confident that with the help I’m getting; hard work, and a few lucky bounces that these goals are realistic.

Time will tell. In the meantime, I’ll remember these ladies and the fact that there are 80 year old’s records that I hope to someday shoot for and the fact that staying strong and active is a gift.

When it’s obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

Confucius 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Go Ahead, Ask Me Anything

Posted on October 29, 2015 by tosabarbell

stupid

My Ozman is dealing with what, I believe, is a fairly common situation of teenagers. He doesn’t ask for help at school. Therefore, he’s struggling a little bit more than necessary. Each and every teacher of each and every class he’s having a hard time in will say, “If only he’d ask more questions. Then I can understand where he’s not understanding and give him help.” 

Ugh. Story of my life. For srs. I was a sophomore in college the first time I asked a question during a test. How do I remember this? Because I could not afford to fail this particular test or I’d be retaking the class and I could not afford to retake the class. It was a business class with one of my favorite professors and I felt most comfortable around him. He took extra steps in showing me that he wanted me to succeed but I HAD TO START ASKING QUESTIONS! Fine, I’ll ask.

Guess what? He didn’t give me the answer outright but he walked me through a couple of steps verbally where I was able to figure it out on my own. I used this technique for the rest of the test and aced it. HOLY SHIT! It’s that easy?? All I have to do is ASK? Geez, wish someone would have told me it was that simple! (I joke that the reason Oz doesn’t ask questions is because neither his dad or I did. His dad didn’t because he thought he knew everything and I didn’t because I assume I knew nothing. Poor kid and his crappy genes.)

It’s took many years after that, but in the last 10 years, I have finally found a comfort in myself to ask questions of many people on many topics. People on the HG circuit know all too well. If I’m anywhere near someone who throws an implement in a way I understand and admire, I’ll go up and ask about it. I may appear stupid; I may appear to be a pain in the ass, I don’t care. I have an expert in front of me, I’ll ask. They are always free to tell me they don’t have time to answer and that’s okay too. I ask beer people questions on beer tours. Sometimes I’ll preface it with saying, ‘this may be a stupid question, but…’ Not once has anyone said to me, “you’re right, that was a really stupid question. So stupid in fact that I’m not even wasting my time with an answer. Here’s a beer token, get out of my face.” Never happened. I embarrass Matt sometimes by asking questions. See, my husband is very smart, honestly sometimes he’s too smart and forgets that other people don’t possess his knowledge so when I ask questions that he’s known the answer to probably all of his life, I embarrass him in front of people. Still. Don’t. Care. I’ll ask. I’ve worked hard to find that comfort to ask questions, no one is taking it from me.

Anways. On stupid questions asked…

What I’ve learned is that the majority of people will answer, ‘great question, here’s the answer.’ I don’t need the validation that it was a great question actually, I just want the answer. There are times I do ask a question and get laughed at for asking. I’ll chalk that up to the fact that in those cases, I am not in a safe place to ask and it won’t happen again. Oh sure, I may still be curious about something said, but fuck off. If you’re so small that you need to laugh at people asking questions (interestingly enough, I find that people who are afraid to ask questions for fear of looking stupid will be the first to laugh at people asking questions. Ummmm,you’re laughing at your own fear. Good luck with that) then that’s on you.

I have worked very hard to try to differentiate when behavior is a reflection of me or of the person exhibiting it. I own my shit, but I won’t own yours.

stupid1

I wish so much I could instill this into Oz. Like, right now. Some kind of magic injection to feel confident enough to ask questions. To know that though you may be laughed at, you’ll have the information you sought and joke’s on asshole who laughed because now you’re smarter than them. That all he needs to do now is ask EVERYTHING he’s unclear about and learn in time when questions are appropriate and how to ask them. But dude, you’re 15, you know very little (unless it’s on guns; tanks; or WWII war strategies, then he’s the SME.)

ASK!

All our best men are laughed at in this nightmare land.

Jack Kerouac

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Raindrops On Roses…

Posted on October 21, 2015 by tosabarbell

…and whiskers on kittens.

Our pre-Shammies dinner back in March. The first reunion of each season is something I look forward to when the hint of spring is in the air.

Our pre-Shammies dinner back in March. The first reunion of each season is something I look forward to as soon as the hint of spring is in the air.

As happy as my body is that the Highland Games season is over, I’m finally letting my heart take it in. It was an amazing year and yes, I realize that I say that after each season. How do the years surpass each other in the fun we have; the love we share; the experiences we, errr, experience, and the throws (OY THE THROWS) we’ve witnessed. Oh sure, I’ll take a day each week and get back to the field. When it’s 70+ degrees in October in Wisconsin, you throw. The day is coming where inside drills is all I’ll have and any hopes of releasing implements will be on the Games field in 2016. But my mind has already moved on to goals in other areas of my life.

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Before I completely leave 2015 behind me; however; I want to take it in.

Throwing in Hawaii was something that, while I joked how much fun it would be, never really thought it would happen. That it did, and I got to throw with Michaela and Petra of Germany, and share Hawaii with my daughter and her best friend were far beyond my dreams. It is probably the most relaxed I have ever been in my life (and my numbers at the Games showed it, heh) and I treasure that trip. Seeing Zandra and Mayce run around without a care in the world was so rewarding. These girls work hard for everything they have and while I won’t use the “deserved” word which is so frequently thrown around by mommies who think their stupid adult children are entitled to whatever they want, it brought me much happiness to watch them enjoy themselves.

The Sunrise of Hawaii is nearly as beautiful as the sunsets but the quiet of the morning; sitting on the rocks and drinking coffee and watching the Island come alive...what a gift.

The Sunrise of Hawaii is nearly as beautiful as the sunsets but the quiet of the morning; sitting on the rocks’ drinking coffee and watching the Island come alive…what a gift.

Jason Clevenger’s backyard Games in April has quickly become a tradition in throwing in (hopefully) the worst conditions of the year. Heh. We are almost guaranteed cold, possibly snow; rain, possibly a couple of inches of hail; and enough wind that the Caber toss just really isn’t happening. But it’s the home team and they even cater in hot food for us and we always have a blast but I just said to Matt the other day, ‘I may be getting old enough that if the forecast is brrrr and wet, I’m out.’ Heh. I’m getting soft in my old age, I’m not afraid to admit it.

rain3

It’s guaranteed; however; that when we head to Rockford to practice it will be one of the hottest mornings of the summer. Heh.

Brown paper packages tied up with strings;

these are a few of my favorite things.

rain4

We took a break in May and skipped out on the Cherry Valley May Games thrown by Merl Lawless and crew. I hate to miss a ‘Merl’ Games but we knew we’d be seeing him again in September at Master’s Worlds. The WWII Re-enactment in Indiana was Oz’s birthday prize from us and, as I mentioned before, seeing him riding up top of the Sherman during the battle, knowing what it meant to him, brought this mom to tears. The happy news is that next year, Master’s World Championships are in August so we’ll be in town for a huge re-enactment that happens in Rockford in September and (universe willing) we’ll make sure Oz is here to take it in.

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels…

rain5

…doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles;

While we DID see the famous Icelandic ponies and replaced apple strudel with Skyr desert (I’m jonesing right now for Skry dessert, I think that’s happening this weekend), the entire trip to Iceland encompasses everything incredible about competing in Highland Games. The people; the throwing; the beauty and the toughness of Iceland was something beautiful to behold. I am so thankful for this opportunity and while I’m selfish enough to hope it’s not our last time throwing for Petur, I will accept if it is, that it is indeed one of the greatest thrills of my lifetime. I will also say, that when we left Petur and Elisabet’s home for the last time, Petur looked up at me and said, “You impressed me Juli” that I teared up. Those words, from that person, meant more to me than anything anyone (other than my husband) has ever said to me. I’ve worked hard to improve some things I struggled with while throwing in Iceland and I have a lot more work to do, but I’m hoping to be able to show Petur some good things from his advice and lots of practice. Time will tell.

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings;

these are a few of my favorite things!

We enjoyed a bit of a break after Iceland and gave some attention to matters at home before our west coast trip. This is the trip I look forward to each year. It enables me to connect with my family and spend some quality time with them. It gives us a chance to spend bits of time with our west coast throwing friends and even get to know them a bit better. And, I’ll be honest, it gives me a chance to watch the best of the best (Men AND Ladies) do their thang on the field. Time. It’s precious and it’s something I don’t take for granted. This is the trip that highlights that belief. I don’t care if it’s a quick dinner at a food truck court (which was AMAZING) or eating WAY too much BBQ in Enumclaw, that hour or so of quiet time we get to spend with new friends and family is a treasure. That I was able to spend an entire week with my family in-between Games was such a treat. I can hope the same works out for next year but also know that we have some lofty travel opportunities plus a family wedding down in Florida that will cut into the Games fun budget, so while it’s not a given, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

rain8

The orange glow of fire surrounded Lake Tapps and much of the Washington Landscape. Lives were lost, as were homes. We are very thankful that our friends and family came through it mostly unscathed and give honor to those who weren’t as fortunate.

August was a whirlwind of practices, Games, and real life. The Wisconsin State Championships, thrown by Jason Clevenger, in LaCrosse is always a great time and to be able to spend some time with the nearly newlywed couple of Katie and Luke Crowley is always a good day on the field. It was my last chance to hit my goal distance with the heavy weight of 28# since my remaining Games would include the 21# as the WOB and HWD. My first throw was money and I hit 40 feet and some change. To say I was stoked is an understatement. I think I have more with the big dawg but I need to dial in some technique first, that’s what off-season is for. I hope.

I know this picture is a bit fuzzy but I love it so much. Luke and Katie are a very special couple and we wish them Congratulations and best wishes as they start their "legal" life together. heehee

I know this picture is a bit fuzzy but I love it so much. Luke and Katie are a very special couple and we wish them Congratulations and best wishes as they start their “legal” life together. heehee

While Matt threw at Jason’s Throwing for the Cure event, I knew I needed a little rest before Pleasanton and sat that one out. Luckily, they had beautiful weather (last year we threw in pouring rain…allllllllll day) and the Games were a great success.

When the dog bites; when the bee stings; when I’m feeling sad…

I'd almost forgotten my Minnesota Ren Fare Games!!! There was some good there; throwing with Brian Hare, Josh Roslik and the rest of the MN crew; meeting Kevin Dupuis and HIS crew; the very cool prizes and spending the weekend with the Oz Man there was some bad. I'd tweaked my back a few days before the trip and it was apparent in my throwing. The ugly, well, the ugly was the ren fare. I'm just not cut out for this environment. When people honestly believe they ARE who they're dressed up to be, well, I just can't. Sorry not sorry.

I’d almost forgotten my Minnesota Ren Fare Games!!! There was some good there; throwing with Brian Hare, Josh Roslik and the rest of the MN crew; meeting Kevin Dupuis and HIS crew; the very cool prizes and spending the weekend with the Oz Man. There was some bad; I’d tweaked my back a few days before the trip and it was apparent in my throwing. The ugly, well, the ugly was the ren fare. I’m just not cut out for this environment. When people honestly believe they ARE who they’re dressed up to be, well, I just can’t. Sorry not sorry.

I simply remember my favorite things;

and then I don’t feel so bad!

And then there’s Pleasanton and that’s just WOW. It is by far the biggest Games I’d been around; the star factor of throwers is the best it can get, and the fun times with friends was beyond our hopes and expectations.

It's hard to pick a picture from Pleasanton. It was such an amazing Games and I was able to meet so many legends of the Games and strength world and see some of my favorite Pro's (mens and womens) in action. But this one sums it up. This is what makes the Highland Games the best; the friendships cross borders; age groups and skill but the end of the day all that matters is that they are FRIENDSHIPS.

It’s hard to pick a picture from Pleasanton. It was such an amazing Games and I was able to meet so many legends of the strength world and see some of my favorite Pro’s (men and women) in action. But this one sums it up. This is what makes the Highland Games the best; the friendships cross borders; age groups and skill but the end of the day all that matters is that they are FRIENDSHIPS.

While I had a very good Games, I didn’t finish strong and that really annoys me. There were multiple windows left open for me to take home a win (along with a helluva lucky Caber toss) and I didn’t finish it. This happened again at Masters World Championships and will be the most important factor addressed in this off-season. But Ooooooo, what a weekend! Our fancy dinners (that’s sarcasm in case you didn’t know) with Big Daddy Jay O’Neil and Bret ‘Hoss’ Lathrop and our new friend Tim Timm was the icing on the cake. The gathering of the bands on Saturday evening, just everything. From A-Z, Pleasanton was everything we envisioned.

rain12

KO & Craig Smith get ready to read.

OH! We’ll detour a bit here and talk about something else. As some of you may know, I had asked as many people as I could muster the courage to read from the book, “Goodnight Moon.” The reason for this is long and will be detailed when I have the video’s put together. As the season has gone on, I’ve tried to get at least one video per Games. There are some amazing video’s and when you get a 2-time Olympian reading the story in Icelandic…well, I could have just stopped there and dropped the mic. However, I was in Pleasanton with the biggest names in our Games in attendance. I’ll be honest, at first I chickened out. But on Sunday afternoon, after I made sure he was all done with his competition, I found Dan McKim hanging oot all by himself and I took my chances. I explained the “why” to him and asked if he’d let me video his reading. Now, don’t think I missed the “what the heck” (I’m pretty sure Dan McKim says ‘heck’ so I’ll put that there) look pass across his face but he smiled and said, “sure.” He did a great job and gave me some non-liquid courage to go for more. And boy did I. I think it’s safe to say that World Champion Beth Burton’s reading to the Elite ladies is probably the funniest thing out there. It was after this reading that I said to myself, ‘this is going to take more than one video.’ There’s just too much good stuff here to throw on one. From there, I inched my way over to Matt Vincent’s stall (not the bathroom kind) and I told him I had a favor to ask. His reply? “Do you want me to read a book?”  Ummmmm, ya, WHO TOLD HIM!!!? From there I got Andy Vincent and it’s a toss up which brother did best (I bet they’ve NEVER heard that;) Heh. There were a couple that I chickened out of asking;  David Webster and Scott Rider. Of course now I regret it, I mean really, they could just say no and walk away thinking I’m a crazy old lady and I’d never be the wiser. But I didn’t. Damn. Big Daddy and Hoss did a great job at dinner Sunday night and even pulled in the big dogs Mike Zolkiewicz and Berger Lambrechts (who had NO idea what was going on) for some cameo appearances. Overall, the whole Pleasanton experience gave me some of the best video. So much more than I thought I’d have when I started this little endeavor. In fact, it’s enough to know that I need to get some good help to do these video’s justice instead of trying to figure it out on my own.

Anyways.What were we talking about??? Oh ya, Highland Games.

Pleasanton quickly rolled by and we geared up for the biggie, Masters World Championships. Now, I’ve written enough about Worlds. It was amazing and disappointing (in myself) all wrapped up in awesome. I am so very thankful for the experience and I need to give props to our Ghillie.

rain13

In Scotland last year with a real Ghillie.

When we were in Scotland, Stephanie Lathrop and I were on our way to the competition field when we came upon this nice man. We asked what he was doing and he explained that he was a Ghillie. His job was to assist the fisherman in anyway necessary or to help them if they ran into trouble. It was a job he was very proud of and from that point on, we told Matt and Hoss that they were OUR Ghillie’s. Heh.

Well, fast forward a year to St.Louis. Max and Yvonne Sadtler, even though Max was also competing, were such amazing Ghillie’s (without even knowing) that I am still in awe. From the moment we hit the hotel until the morning we all left (sorry we missed out on bye bye hugs…I’m sure you understand;) the time we shared with them was a treasure. Yvonne would find places to eat dinner, make a reservation and make sure we all got there. On Friday after a much needed dip in the pool, she made steaks and potatoes (and most importantly wine) appear from nowhere for me and Matt and we didn’t have a need in the world that wasn’t met. Our nightcaps were special as we got some quiet time together and I just feel like I’m getting an enormous hug just thinking of all the things they did for us (field beers; field cookies; trying to herd us together for Sushi Saturday night when all of us were all over the place. She has the patience that has never existed in my world.) They both have giving hearts that have touched us and we are so very thankful to you both. Aloha friends.

rain14

Bigg and I, Max and Yvone, and Victoria and Mark. Though a few good friends were missing, this was the perfect way to end a World Championship Games.

And lastly, Indy. Finishing in Indy has been tons of fun for us. It includes a trip to 3 Floyds Brewery in Indiana which is a favorite of Matt’s and the food and beer are a great kickoff to the trip. Spending one last field day with friends, even a warm sunny one, is a great send off to any season.

Randy Winter's dinner picture cracks me up. Tracey looks like she's finally lost her mind after helping throw a huge Games; Sue is nice and calm; Maria is ready for bed; Dawn's energy knows no bounds, and me and Sue are talking story. The perfect end of year dinner (or would have been had my back not tightened up.)

Randy Winter’s dinner picture cracks me up. Tracey looks like she’s finally lost her mind after helping throw a huge Games; Sue is nice and calm; Maria is ready for bed; Dawn’s energy knows no bounds, and me and Sue are talking story. The perfect end of year dinner (or would have been had my back not tightened up.)

And that’s all folks. 2015 in a nutshell. I want to take one last opportunity to thank all of the Athletic Directors; Kevin Rogers; Highland Games associations that make it all happen for us; friends; family; my daughter back home for taking care of the house and furry family while we’re away; all of the Pro’s who are willing to share a nugget of knowledge with this elder to improve my throwing; the prizes, and most of all, this guy…

rain16

Without him, none of this would be happening. He is my biggest cheerleader and the first to say how proud of me he is. He works hard so we get to go play and I’m so thankful for him. Yo Bigg, you da man. (MY man actually;)

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.

Meister Eckhart

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment