What I learned from.... the World of Sports

Now I really tried to wriggle out of this one, but turtle friend Robert wouldn't let me (dear Robert, turtles don't do sport! really they don't! The Tortoise and the Hare story must have made that clear to you - it was the hare that did the sporty bit, not the tortoise!)

So, here goes, but remember I didn't want to because I'm not sporty, never was really. As a primary school child I was always chosen among the last when teams were selected (and that 'habit' didn't change during secondary school too!), I was more at ease with a book than with ball games, running games or whatever game that involved more arm or leg muscle than head 'muscles'.

Not that I was fat, overweight (always been ahem kind of 'sturdy build') or my legs were too short or something like that (did had/have long and tripping-triggery feet). No, nothing like that. It's just that being sporty is so tiring! Being asthmatic in my younger years didn't help I guess.

Also during school sports days I (and/or the team that selected me) frequently ended up being last in any game.

Expect that one year. The year when I had a paper-round in the early mornings, delivering the local daily paper to over 200 addresses. Early mornings mean early fresh air and a lot of arm and leg muscle movement. Not just on my little bike (remember, we're talking Dutch here, everything there is done on your bike!), but marching up and down the garden paths with a bundle of papers under my arm, jumping over (low) hedges and gates etc. The perfect outside gym, perfect it turned out for children with asthmatic tendencies.

And you know what's funny? I didn't even notice the improvement in physical health until the training days before the sports day. The same three girls in my gym-class always run the 800 meter race and even during training the rest of us could never keep up with them, until that year. I was running besides them, even running first for a while until it hit me: what's going on here? I'm not supposed to run here, I should be legging way, way behind.

I did get selected that year to run the 800 meters and ended in a decent place (don't ask me which place, plain forgotten that. Safe to say it wasn't first, I would definitely remember that!). After the following summer holidays my exam year started and I said goodbye to my paper-round (too much homework with with too many long evenings studying), so no more successes in sports.

So what did I learn from the world of sports? Nothing really, the title should better be changed in:

What I learned from a Paper-Round: being a decent sport!

(note from the editor. Just in: turtles do do sport!
Thanks Robert ;-)

Comments

[Robert Hruzek]

Karin, a great lesson on how perseverance pays off in unexpected ways! Even when you didn't realize it, it was building something within you that surprised you later.

I bet your self-confidence shot up quite a bit from that, too.

Thanks for joining in once again; besides, you know you wanted to anyway! :-D

[Karin H.]

Hi Robert

Fraid that didn't really boost my self-confidence. Getting an A-plus for my history essay, now that was a boost ;-)

and eh, thanks for setting the record straight on turtles - see new picture in the post.

Karin H.

[Robert Hruzek]

Bwa-ha-ha-ha! :-D

[Joanna Young]

Hi Karin, you sound like a woman after my own heart! I was always last to get picked for everything. My 'highlight' came when the PE teacher stopped me from practicing the high jump - the bar was set ridiculously low, but I still couldn't stop my left leg from crashing into it. The rest of the class were laughing so much I'd become a disruptive influence and had to be removed! Maybe there's a blog post in this story - another day...

Joanna

[Karin H.]

Hi Joanna

That too rings a bell with me ;-)

Somehow I think now we've become high-fliers of a different kind!

Karin H.