She Leads the Way

It was a special day for her. A day she will remember for many years.

First and foremost, it was her birthday, solidly into her teens now, having reached the ripe old age of fourteen. And then there was her swim tournament. Four events today, four personal best times and a blue ribbon for her relay team. And, if that did not make her smile like a Cheshire cat, her times qualified for the regional tournament.

This image is of Isabella and her swim coach, Andrea. They have been together for seven years. Andrea is a role model of role models. She drives her athletes to exceed their self-imposed limitations and to break through the glass walls that they build in their minds.

But what I love most about Andrea is the fact that her advice and wisdom does not stop within the four walls of the pool. The commitment, the discipline, the training, the unending devotion to the pursuit of one's goals does not end when the swimmer touches the wall. Andrea spends boundless energy asking her team to take the lessons learned while in the pool, the lessons that lead to victory, and to apply them to the rest of their lives. She is an amazing woman who gets that sport, for most, is not an end but a means to a better life.

Andrea, thank you for such a major role over the past 50% of my daughter's life.

This image is a bit of an experiment for me. Having won a LensBaby as the result of entering a local photography contest, today was my first day to play with the lens. It is not a lens that I have longed for but, now that I have it, I am anxious to play with it more. Obviously I need some time to master it.