Never to Late

I am inspired this time by Diana Nyad, a record breaking swimmer who finally swam from Cuba to Florida, breaking a world record.  She made a statement that inspired these words.  Scientist can explain what the heart and mind can do but they cannot measure what the spirit can do.  I was bowled over by the words she used that I interpreted in my own way and that inspired me to write this blog.  She is a woman who demonstrated to the world that doing something like swimming across the ocean is not about swimming but about accomplishing something that others believe could not be done and that determination supersedes scientific truth.  Her journey across the ocean was really about not giving up and when she made it to the end of her journey at 64 people who witnessed it sobbed.  The tears were not about sadness but rather about joy and the idea that any one of them could accomplish something that they thought they could not.  It was about witnessing someone doing something she'd always wanted to do and finally doing it after thirty years between the first try and the next one.

What Diana's story really means is that any one of us can do what we dream of at any time of our lives as long as we are physically prepared and spiritually strong.  She simply demonstrated to us all that even at sixty years of age we can go back and retrieve our dream.  We can take back the dream that we thought we had to let go of and begin a new chapter of our lives at sixty.  We can be fearless even at that age and not allow age to be a factor in making things happen that we want to happen.  She showed the world that there is no reason to believe that we cannot start anew, not even the myths around women and their abilities.  

My grandmother was not an athlete yet for me she was one of those women who defied the limited standards about women.  She was the backbone of our household and she made sure everyone felt loved, nurtured, was fed and slept on a bed with clean sheets.  She made the very best pound cake I have ever tasted and will ever taste.  She washed every single dish in the house and required us all to 

be the very best person we could and get the highest grades in school.  She swam the ocean of life and she made sure everyone in the family did not drown but rather made sure that the life saver was 

available when needed.  She was a swimmer of life.  

I want to remember Diana Nyad because she is a woman who taught others that no matter how 

long they have been waiting to accomplish their dreams they can and should keep trying.  I love her because she made it possible for me to think about what I have not done in my life that I still want to do I can still consider doing.  

Coach Elliott