Sleeping late, Friday morning

I was up late last night watching the Olympics. I crawled into bed full of national pride for our Olympians and thinking about all of the athletes who have trained for years with the dream of being an Olympic champion, only to have their dreams dashed by a small mistake, a minor misstep, or a better athlete. That happens in life. We all make small errors or come up against someone or something better. It is what we do afterwards, that matters that makes the day count.

I have been watching the swimmers, the gymnastics, and the men’s volleyball team. It is truly difficult to believe, but W is off to high school in a few weeks. He will play football, wrestle, and lacrosse – three sports, three seasons, at least that his plan. He’ll be working hard in the classroom, too. Right now, he’s up reading, or he’s supposed to be reading his book. He switched to Sunrise over Fallujah. As I mentioned, he off to high school, he’s headed to Wheaton Warrenville South High School where they have an amazing men’s volleyball program, and a pretty good football program as well. If you have been following and reading, you’ll remember tales of the Tiger football program. Nevertheless, a WWSHS grad is playing on the men’s volleyball team and he is a two-time Olympian. It turns out his mom was one of W’s pre-school teachers. So, the Olympics have a local angle and as well rooting for plain ol’ nationalistic pride – GO USA! Anyway, I was up late watching the Olympics and went to sleep long after my bedtime and I slept in this morning.

It was rainy yesterday morning and I did quite a bit with the day – pictures printed, notes written, and letters mailed to grandma and grandpa, my mom, and my step-mom. My mom follows the blog and keeps up, so she’ll have some pictures instead of reading and seeing, but neither grandma and grandpa nor my step-mom follow so the pictures will be surprise! I got a few other tasks done, but it felt like a rainy day.

The rainy morning gave way to a sunny late afternoon and early evening. After dinner, O exclaimed,

“Dad, momma, I want to go water skiing!”

the smile of a camp, up and skiing!

O had tried the day before, but come up short and having her ask to sky was an opportunity which didn’t come along often; so we rushed around getting the gear ready and the boat ready for a run on the lake. Our lake has a shallow shoreline, perfect for water skiing, and we started there. W was in the water helping O get up and skiing, momma was driving, and I was spotting and taking pictures. It was a clear early evening and the sun was setting; it was another amazing sunset, no single sunset is the same at the lake. Ivy was aboard, it was easier taking her with us, and I took a few shots of Ivy while we waited for O and W to get her strapped in, settled and ready. Once they were ready, I stayed focused on snapping shots of O skiing, or trying to ski. It took her a few tries, but she got up and skied for a few hundred yards before falling backwards into the lake. It was exciting to see her ski and this morning, looking at the pictures you can see the broad smile across her face, and feeling of a champion, way to go O.

It is now late morning and if I do not wrap this up and post, I never will, and the day will pass me by. It is a beautiful day and another day to ski, another day to weed, and another day to make count in so many ways. Making the Days Count, making the day matter, and getting back up and keeping after it.

Can you remember a time when you kept at something until you got it? 

6 thoughts on “Sleeping late, Friday morning

    1. thanks for stopping by, I like the picture also, it’s in a part of the lake where the sun and the water are at a perfect angle for spray shots. I had the picture turned into a poster for him and surprised him, he thought it was cool…. I tried skiing three times as an adult, with much the same result. Congratulations on your 10,000!

  1. The water-skiing picture reminds me of the first time I tried it. I must have been about the same age as O. We were lucky enough to live on a lake. Oh, that feeling of skimming across the top of the water with my hair flying out behind me – it was exhilarating!!

    Well done, O. Medal-deserving a feat if ever I there was one!

    1. Mary! I tried skiing three times, and failed. I didn’t have a lake house growing up and swimming at the pool was just about it. My kids have been ex[posed to the water since they were babies and want to ski and be on the lake… they both have a lot of fun out there! Thanks for stopping by!

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