Early last night, a couple friends and I headed out to the Coppertank for a low-key drink. Last night, however, was not just a regular night out – it was Christmas Eve Eve!
Christmas Eve Eve @ the Coppertank is an annual gathering started by some great UBC rowing crewmen. Every year, these ladies and gents meet for pitchers, pictures, and many good laughs. It has now grown to include other members of old TBird teams from Volleyball, Rugby, Swimming, and even Baseball. Needless to say, when the old crew started pouring in on our “low-key evening” it was incredibly nostalgic and really amazing to see old teammates.
(They are now coaching, rowing for Cambridge, competing on the Canadian Women’s National Rowing team, serving in the Canadian Forces, changing the world through Architecture, and working on visual effects on movie sets … to name but a few. A pretty rad bunch if I do say so myself.)
I then woke up this morning to receive a package in the mail from my great friend in Ontario, Ryan Ferguson. Frig – this dude makes me smile. For Christmas, he found a National Geographic picture of a Mens 8+ rowing crew, pushing off from the same dock in Vancouver I rowed off of in my last year on the team. He wrote a note that said:
I hope when you look at this picture you gain a little inspiration as you think about all those cold morning practices you had to endure as you pushed yourself to become stronger.
Truth Bomb! I owe a huge amount of gratitude to the men and women that shared those bitter cold mornings with me. Seeing them last night just reminded me of all the life lessons rowing taught me over those 3 years.
While I won’t get into too much detail now, I just wanted to write this post to send out a huge thank you. That team pushed my physical and mental abilities every morning. I can’t show them enough gratitude for all they helped me accomplish and enough praise for all they are now accomplishing after our years together in those boats.
Here’s to spandex unisuits, blistered hands, and enough good times to make waking up at 5 am seem like a great idea.
Pick of the post: Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi (music video)
Related posts: