Going for gold!

I have never been a sports fan - either as a spectator or a participant, although my friend Fran has tried many times! (Remember golf and bocce?)
But since I moved to the island, that has shifted ever so slightly. First it was kayaking. My dear sweet husband, who I must admit, spoils me rotten, bought me a kayak for my birthday. Many summer afternoons (though not nearly enough) were spent out on one river or another with Brenda. It was a good fit for both of us. She's been at it for a while and I am a real novice, but its been a lot of fun. Then winter came. Again, my gift at Christmas was Cross Country skis. I've been more active in the past ten months than I have in the past ten years. I have Brenda to thank for that.
Then along came the Tournament of Hearts (not 'Roses' as I previously referred to it). I don't know any of the women on the PEI team but I know of them. One is a student at UPEI.
The day we watched the finals was so exciting.

Now it's bobsledding at the Olympics. Last night I went over to Brenda and Bernie's with butter tarts, and Brenda made the tea. I got there just in time to watch the first two heats of the women's bobsled race. One of the teams has an islander, Heather Moyse. Of course I don't know her but she is the only islander competing at the games. No pressure there! We watched the first heat and it was so exciting. Team Canada 1 (there are two Canadian teams competing) went first and they set the pace for the entire run, a pace that no one else was able to beat. Then in the second heat, the order was reversed so they were running last.

One by one the others came down the track, and some had faster times than Team Canada in the first round. It was 10:00 pm here so it was 6:00 pm in Vancouver. It's starting to get colder and the track is beginning to glaze over with the cooler temperatures. But can they come out a second time and beat their previous time, which has already been surpassed?
You bet they can! It was all the more exciting to watch with them running at the end. What a rush when they came away victorious for the second time.Tonight there are two more runs and the accumulated time for all four runs determines the gold medal.

I came into Timothy's this morning and three gentlemen were discussing hockey and pondering how they were going to watch the hockey and Heather Moyse at the same time. I couldn't help ask them "Was that not the most exciting thing to watch last night?" They all agreed it was amazing as we chatted about it. No one would ever comprehend me, of all people, taking part in an animated and highly exhilerating conversation regarding sports. That's just not me.
But living here, where everyone knows everyone else, I no doubt know people, who know Heather. It's really just like one big family down here. That may or may not be a good thing, but so far it's pretty special, and I consider myself very fortunate to be cheering on 'one of the family'.

GO TEAM CANADA!!!