November 17, 2013

Weathering the Seasons

Every volleyball season in Europe has been drastically different from the last. As has the actual weather. But the thing about seasons is that they have a beginning and an end, and we must be prepared for the worst - and yet still hope for the best.

A Californian enlightened by cold weather clothing.
The first half-season in Belgium was a real-life fairy tale. I wouldn't trade those 3 months for anything. We completely dominated teams, and achieved our objective of moving up a division. Western Europe had an insane snowstorm that winter just before I arrived in January, so I got to deal with a lot of frost and ice. I also learned how to wear scarves and coats properly.

The second season in France was pretty easy. The goal was to maintain our position in Nationale 3, and see how we could improve over the year. We finished right in the middle of the pack in 5th place after an unexpected great start (9-2), and a less than stellar finish. The fall was dubbed an "Indian Summer," but when winter came, it stayed cold and wet through the spring.

The third season in France was extremely frustrating. The pressure was on now to move up to the next division, and while crazy people like me flourish under that kind of expectation, our team as a whole fell apart from top to bottom. We finished in 4th place, barely any change from the previous season. It didn't help that the winter started at the end of September and went all the way through May. I have never been so cold for so many days in a row in my entire life.

This fourth season in France with a new club is once again, totally new. We are currently defeated. Like we have won zero matches. We are heading into what we hope will be the three matches we can win in the next month, but it will depend on how well we can move past the fact that 75% of us are new to the team and still figuring out how to play as one. We really only need to be better than two other teams in order to stay in Nationale 2, so these matches are going to be very telling of what the future holds for me and my team.

But on the brighter side, it's the middle of November, and winter is just starting to peek its head around the corner. I haven't even had to start wearing leggings under my jeans yet! We are still enjoying some sunny, albeit cold (40s), days and it has made anything unpleasant that much easier to handle.

Of course, I'd love to have what I had in Belgium all over again, and who knows, that kind of season might be waiting for me somewhere in the next few years. And Marc and I would definitely go for living anywhere in the South of France for more reliable sunshine!

One of the many things my parents taught me while growing up was not only to accept change as it came, but to find how I could thrive through change. Changes can be good and bad, but they are inevitable. It is who we become through the changes presented in our lives that dictates our course.

Sports have often been used as a lens to reveal one's character. My dad taught me how the winning and losing aspects of sports only serve to magnify how much we actually love or hate the game, our reactions to success and failure, and whether we will choose to stick together as a team or drift away from each other.

"Cuatro" at championships. In Minnesota. SO. COLD.
I'm thankful that my life in sports has never been entirely defined just by wins or just by losses. I've had the opportunity to be a part of amazingly successful and incredibly awful teams, with some plain old mediocre groups throughout. I'm blessed to have been grouped with like-minded people often enough to make lifelong best friends.

What have I learned from being on and/or coaching an average of 3 teams each year since 1995?


I have learned that every season is different, and good and bad for different reasons. I have learned that I love volleyball, even when I'm losing, and I won't change this career until my body finally quits on me. I have learned that seasons come, and seasons go, as do teammates and coaches. I have learned that no matter how discouraging the coldness of losing can be, that the warmth of a win is always somewhere in the future, and sometimes closer than we think.

God has used everything in my life to teach me how to be durable. Durability is an attitude; it's showing up everyday with a smile on my face that says, "I'm here, I'm ready, and I'm with you, so let's do this."

#lovedoes

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November 5, 2013

Double the Friends, Double the Fun

We have had the really cool opportunity to share our gorgeous Paris with several of our friends this fall season. I was lucky enough to spend a little bit more time than normal with two of them: my best friend, Tanya, and my cousin, James.

TANYA

(Jenn), Tanya, Christy, (& Amanda) = Cuatro!
Tanya came out our very first year in France, and we kind of did everything imaginable during those 3 weeks. So when she wanted to jet over here for a mere 6 days of shopping insanity, the other goal was to give her some new Parisian experiences as well.

You can read from Tanya's perspective on her blog entry, I love Paris in the fall....


We hit the ground running at the Marché aux Puces in Saint-Ouen, north of town. This is the oldest flea market in Paris, and full of all kinds of treasures, oddities, and interesting people. Tanya was able to capitalize on some excellent merchandise, and we enjoyed an unusually delicious lunch at the café in the middle of the market.

We really wanted to take advantage of the "Nuit Blanche," but it ended up being on Saturday night before my Sunday match. Instead, we went to our neighbor's costume birthday party. The theme was "before and after," which ended up being a really difficult theme to dress up for! We based our last minute decision on the available clothes in our closets. Tanya and I are about as perfect as Angelina Jolie as Marc is as Brad Pitt (Tanya was Lara Croft, and Marc and I were Mr. & Mrs. Smith). Reference my Instagram account for the photo!



My favorite part of Tanya's week with us was the awesome Eiffel Tower vantage point that we stumbled upon. We walked along the river and found ourselves totally alone with the Eiffel in full view. Jumping Photo Shoot, GO!


JAMES
While we were in London with my uncle, aunt, and cousin James, we got to talking about how James could easily come for a visit. So that he did!

James had been to Paris before with his family when he was younger, so the sights weren't really the draw for him this time around. We went all over the place! We got on new trams, metro lines, and walked around entire arrondissements (neighborhoods) that I had never bothered to visit before. And we did most of it in the rain!

My club also happened to be having a real French dinner evening, and we three Americans got to be a part of a crazy French board game, a 7 (or 8?) course meal, and a whole lot of laughter and good times with my team and friends.

James was a fun visitor to have because he literally blended into our lives. Another one of our mutual friends, Cate, lives in the center of Paris, and he would go back and forth between our flats like it was no big thing. I think the Navigo pass really helps with that attitude!

I had three main highlights during James' trip.

1) Walking along the Canal Saint-Martin

Coat credit: Tanya. Photo credit: James.
I have wanted to do this stroll for a year or two now, and we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day, and no crowds. The canal has wide pathways along each side, and arching foot bridges across it. We ate with the self-proclaimed hipsters at Chez Prune. And we were cool.

2) Salon du Chocolat

Macaron rainbows.
We kind of forced this onto James - he doesn't like chocolate - but we just had to go! Cate, James, my American pal Amy, and I hit the convention center and then the aroma hit us! I wanted to Insta-scent it via my iPod. Amy and I thought we were so clever when we finally found a company giving out free samples, and we both just took a morsel without even thinking. The taste was VERY strange and we gave the guy the look of, "What kind of awful flavor is this?" He replied, "Cannibis." Let's just say that's not a mistake we will ever be making again. EVER.

We were able to cleanse our palettes the rest of the time with way better options, but I don't think I will go back to the event in the future. Why not? While it was a good alternative this year to trick-or-treating on Halloween, there were so many freaking KIDS EVERYWHERE that it really took the fun out of it for me. It felt like Disneyland on the weekend - no thanks. The highlight of this activity was just being with my friends, accidentally eating disgusting marijuana-flavored chocolate, and seeing all the beautiful desserts!

3) Volleyball Practice
Most of my friends who do come to visit are my former volleyball teammates anyway, but James didn't come to my volleyball playing practice, he came to the boys volleyball practice that I coach! Since it was the vacation still, I didn't have a lot of boys at either practice, but that meant that James got to play the whole time! The coolest part of it for me was how my 13-year-old boys decided James was the most awesome person ever, and were actually chanting his name the entire practice. He became "one of the boys" during both practices, and I couldn't have asked for a better volleyball guest. I think my players like me more now because James is related to me.

Me. Tower. Cousin. YES.
I don't know how many miles we walked together, but the enjoyment was more in the talking than in the walking. I feel like I finally had the chance to get to know my cousin on an adult-to-adult basis, without the throng of family members all around.

I believe it is so important to actually take the time to talk about "real stuff" with relatives and create friendships instead of just being related. I know not all relatives are meant to be friends (personality clashes, differences in convictions, distance, whatever), but isn't it fantastic when it can, and then does, happen?!


I heard a quote a long time ago, "Fate chooses our relatives, but we choose our friends." Tanya is my friend who has become a relative, and James is my relative who has become a friend.

Forget "Fate;" I'm glad I can choose both.

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