In Sports as in Life

I don't know many women who are as into sports movies as I am. Rudy, Rocky, Invicible, Pride, and Cinderella Man are a few of what I consider to be classics. These movies, while providing intense and compelling sports sequences, aren't actually about the sports themselves but about those who play them, those who put absolutely everything on the line to follow their dreams. To make a difference.

In what has become my favorite such movie (yes, Invictus) there is a wonderful scene where Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) invites Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to tea. After sitting down, Mandela asks after Pienaar's ankle, which he had heard was injured. Pienaar states that in truth one never plays rugby at one hundred percent, at which point Mandela states 'Ah, in sports as in life'.

This statement has stayed with me. As you can tell by one of my previous posts I feel that it is an absolutely wonderful movie about incredible men in an absolutely pivotal time doing the impossible. And succeeding. What really hits me, though, is not necessarily the grand gestures, the great victories. It's the little things. How Nelson Mandela took great strides to truly know the people around him, appreciating their efforts and showing compassion and gratitude. How Francois Pienaar believed in Mandela, in himself and in his team and became such a huge part in unifying their nation. And small statements such as this one. It's true.

There will never be a time where everything will be perfect. Where there aren't multiple lessons to be learned and challenges to overcome. They may come in the form of work, of home, of personal life, of social life. They may present physically, mentally, spiritually, usually all three. There will never come a prolonged time of easy sailing. Frankly I think that if there is, you aren't trying hard enough. There is so much to do, to learn, to teach, to give, to serve. There are so many things that happen every day that we can either take in stride or let overwhelm us. I have been on both sides of the coin and honestly, I prefer to sleep at night. To not experience panic at the list of tasks ahead of me. Panic, stress and fear will get me nothing and nowhere. That is a lesson I began learning at RE/MAX and continue to hone and refine to this day. Am I perfect? Of course not, but why should I let that discourage me?

Life may not hit when I'm at one hundred percent, but I'm certainly going to give it my all!

Midnight to Noon

Yesterday was a good day, though perhaps some would not agree. I've been really congested for several days and went through at least 50 tissues. I didn't get a single thing I'd planned done in the office. And I was at work for over 12 hours trying to diagnose a large inventory discrepancy and help form and implement a new policy to prevent it from occuring again. There was a time, in the not at all distant past, that these events would have left me feeling entitled to having a really bad day.

Not any more :) After several heart-felt conversations with my parents (thanks to Dad especially for the after-midnight ones) I've decided to appreciate what I have, what I do, and who I do it with. To be honest, I actually thoroughly enjoyed what happened yesterday. Not that I want inventory discrepancies, but I enjoyed working with others to try to find out where it went wrong, then to determine the parameters of the new policy and then taking the time to write up and distribute it. I was involved in almost every aspect of the process. It was a puzzle that I was able to help put together and solve.

Is the problem fixed? We hope so, but any time such a policy is implemented, time must be spent working out the kinks and analyzing the results. While this will affect everyone in my department, adding time to what used to be the easiest transaction at the regisers, I will have to sit down every day and try to figure out if it works, if there are any errors or holes, and track any more discrepancies. Do I mind? Nope, not really :) While it adds time and tasks to my day, again it's a puzzle that I get to help put together.

So what does that have to do with midnight and noon? I got home just after 10 last night and took Nyquil around 11. I was asleep right around midnight and slept, with perhaps a few interruptions, until noon. Ah, happy day :) I'm feeling well-rested, I'm less congested, and I had lasagna and nutty bars for breakfast. I'm watching Burn Notice and, well, writing this blog. A good start to a good day off :)

On another good note, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!