“The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.” – Confucius
My father would never think to boast about his accomplishments – it isn’t his style and it is part of what makes him the amazing person that he is. He is very modest about what he has done in his life, but as his daughter, I feel it is my duty to boast a little bit about what a kick-ass person he is, as he continues to be such a huge inspiration to me.
This past weekend he competed for the second time in the ITU World Triathlon Age Group Sprint Championship in Edmonton, Canada. I wasn’t able to be there in person, but my mom sent along this picture of him finishing the race while I watched the live stream on my computer. He placed 8th in his age group and finished in a time that would put me, at half his age, to shame. In fact, I’m headed home this week to help him celebrate his 67th birthday!
My father struggled with retirement. It took him years to really settle into it and face the idea of not working insane hours every day. He dedicated his life to helping people, and in that he gave up a lot of his own free time and interests. Exercise has always been something that relieved stress for him and gave him a place to put his energies outside of work. From the time I was a little girl I can remember going to races to cheer him on, but he always returned the favor by leaving work in order to be there to watch one of my track meets or races. He was present, and continues to be, and that is the most important thing you can ask of a parent.
The same type of dedication he always gave his job, I now see him giving to the training for his triathlon races. It inspires me to watch him as he tackles it with the same curiosity, gumption and drive. It makes me realize that when you are dedicated to something you love doing – because he loved what he did for work, as well – you want to be invested in the process. I talked to my dad after the race, and he mentioned his favorite interview with the Olympic skier, Bill Koch, who after winning his silver medal in cross-country skiing exclaimed that the process of getting to the silver medal, was better then the silver medal itself. It is this very attitude, more so then anything, that inspires me about my dad.
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