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| Mine/His |
This past Christmas, a coworker put a pot of tulips into my stocking. I didn’t like this gift at first – its pretty, fussy existence threatened my already fragile sense of masculinity. But, in time, I learned to stop worrying and love my bulbs. In fact, taking care of these flowers has become an exciting part of my daily office routine, because I get to watch them grow a little bit more each day. I’m actually getting competitive about them. Sometimes, I’ll look at my coworkers’ plants and scoff at them. “Meh,” I’ll think to myself. “Mine are taller. Mine are blossoming more quickly. Mine have deeper colors.” This Tiger Mom-kind of thinking is new territory for me. For most of my life, I was not a very competitive person. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have batted an eye if a coworker’s plant had the gall to sprout an extra bud. I guess paddling for three seasons on a dragon boat team will do that you.
To be kind, I am not a natural athlete. I wasn’t born with the heart or body of a champion. But I’m working on it. My first season with the team was strictly recreational. I didn’t even bother to try out for a seat on the advanced boat. But, as time went on, I got hooked on both dragon boat paddling and DieselFish, thanks to the support the team gave me. They never gave up on my shallow, jittery stroke, and that positive energy encouraged me to try harder. By my second season, my technique improved, as did my mindset – I was determined to prove myself. I tried out for the advanced boat, and earned a seat on it.
At some point, this desire to push myself in the boat spilled over into my personal life on dry land. My time with DieselFish has been rewarding because it has become more than just a physical activity. It flipped on a switch in my head, and showed me the need to strive for better things. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to force my flowers to do extra math homework and play the piano for a couple of hours.
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