July – 2012 – I Dream In Jenna

I grew up in the water and truly love swimming. The water, my high-school swim team, the lake where I grew up in Upstate NY are all part of my soul. The XXX Summer Olympics reminds me of how much I loved being part of my swim team. We trained with dedication and if you were a swimmer you embraced crazy practice schedule, thousands upon thousands of yards swim practices, paper suits, soar shoulders, chlorine smelling skin and constantly having wet hair.

The Olympics have reminded me how fun it is to keep in touch with old swim buddies and easy thanks to text message and FB. Growing up in a small town that had a remarkable swim record I connected with girls at an early age who loved to swim. Some of whom I spent pre-school through senior year of high school together. We had swim lesson’s every year in gym class (yes we had a pool and swim lessons as part of gym, amazing I now know), went to modified championships and varsity championships, we went to state qualifications and states that made us nervous while winning medals and sharing tears when beat at the last second.

I can’t wait to jump in a pool and swim some laps. A little slower than when I was a real swimmer. But the love for water will always be within me.

Sharing my favorite XXX Summer Olympics commercial:

We went to Willie. Willie Nelson that is. It was an awe inspiring moment in my life. My dear friend Kelley told me that seeing The Boss for the first time was a spiritual experience. I have yet to see Bruce Springsteen. But Willie Nelson was a spiritual experience for me.

We went to Willie celebrating our friend Tim’s birthday. For icing on the cake we spent a little extra for amazing seats. Celebrity Theater in Phoenix is a small, odd venue with a circular stage that moves. But, this particular crowd was perfect. Rather than the smell of kind bud, beer and whiskey the AZ crowd was a little older and subdued for a Sunday evening. But we celebrated with a fantastic dinner followed by Willie Nelson served up with whiskey and beer. It was a delicious evening.

Willie has his trusty guitar with the big hole in it, his American flag guitar strap, cowboy hat, bandana and sister Barbara on the piano.

Willie played several of my favorites including Georgia On My Mind, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain and City of New Orleans. We were eight rows back and Willie even though 79 sounded crisp, relevant and lovely. A true living legend in my mind. Our babysitter at 19 had no idea who he was