This past weekend I happened to catch the Olympic swimming trials on TV. I tuned in just in time to watch 41-year-old Dara Torres qualify for her fifth Olympics. I was in awe as she finished ahead of other swimmers literally half her age. How sweet victory must taste to an athlete who spent years away from the sport she loved in order to raise a family and "take care of business" only to return and swim faster than ever-- AT AGE 41!
I was thrilled this year to finally get back to playing competitive softball. I played intramural, city and church league softball for about 10 years through high school, college and early adulthood. I was pretty decent and had a chance to play on some really good teams with some really outstanding players. We won a few championships. But life situations change, players "retire" and priorities take over. All the sudden, nine years slip by without me touching my bat bag. This past April I knocked the dust off of it, bought a new pair of cleats and hit the diamond once again.
It was a fun ride. The mighty men of ISBC wound up going 14-2 and finishing second in our church league regular season. We also won the sportsmanship award as voted on by the league umpires, which I think was even a greater feat. One of the teams that beat us went undefeated for the second year in a row. They pretty much hammered us in our regular season game, but we did not hit the ball very well.
Tonight, we met that team in the post-season tournament... and beat them! It was a game for the ages. Although I was only 1 for 3 with the one hit being a double that I turned into a single by slipping on the wet dirt rounding first base and putting a big strawberry on my knee and my ego... I did knock in a run and played okay in the field (first base.) The win made me feel like I was in high school again. We were all as giddy as a bunch of kids. Even though I sit here now feeling very much like the 38-year-old I am-- with a big bandage on my knee-- for a few moments tonight I think I got a glimpse of what Dara must have felt last Saturday. Age is irrelevant when you get a chance to excel at something you love one more time.
Hi Tiger! I have to say that, I too, was very inspired by Dara's performance (even though I didn't actually see it)! Being way past 40 myself, I realize just how dedicated she would have to be to accomplish this great feat! I truly believe we should all strive for excellence, and sometimes its so easy to make excuses for not achieving our goals. However, she proves again that we are usually only limited by ourselves. She's certainly inspired me! Dara....you go girl!
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