Lent 2010: Day 2

Okay. This isn't going very well -- not well at all, but am I a quitter?!

Well, just a minute let me think . . .

Okay . . . no. I mean, NO!! No, of course not.

Last night Olympic highlights were Minnesota's own downhill skier Lindsey Vonn and the wacky snowboard half pipers. What a strange dichotomy of Olympic attitude.

They showed Lindsey as she was going through a mental trial run of the ski slope. There she was -- eyes closed, hands grasping her imaginary ski poles, swishing and darting down the imaginary mountain at an imaginary 80 miles per hour. Her little face frozen in determination.

When it was her time to go down the hill, she stood in the gate like she was ready for battle. She looked angry. She looked mean. She looked like that mountain was her number one enemy. How dare it think she would remain at the top when victory was so near at the bottom. She hopped up and down. She pushed back and forth on her skis. More! More! More! AND GO!! Off she went, taking no prisoners as she raced down that slope pushing and shoving that mountain all the way down.

She collapsed at the bottom and screamed and when she became the gold medal winner three or four skiers later, she started to cry. Oh, and it was the ugly cry, wasn't it? Big tears. Big emotion. Big release. "What's going through your mind?" asked the reporters. "Why all the tears?" The poor girl wasn't sure she was even going to be able to ski this race due to a bruised shin and through the grace of rainy weather the whole thing had been postponed and there she was -- weeping like she probably hadn't all year.

Now contrast that to our little snowboarding half pipe team. In their snow pants that look like jeans and their bandannas. With their ipods on . . . while they performed. One kids' coach (do they have coaches?) whacked him on the arm when it was his turn because clearly he couldn't hear over his music.

Oh, I know they are just as serious. I know they are just as driven and that gold medal is just as important. It just looked different.

Well, shoot. Looks like I am out of time to discuss why I didn't get up at the Proverbs 31:15 time again today . . . Maybe I need to be a little more Lindsey Vonn about it and a little less Shaun White.