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Adventures in living a healthy, juicy life

by Cheryl Ragsdale

I’m always in awe watching the athletes perform in the Winter Olympics. For some, I wonder, how can someone so young have such skill, such emotional maturity, such ability to perform under pressure.

“They get used to it,” people say in a casual way.

Joannie Rochette, Olympic Skater - (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

How do they “get used to it”?

In order to develop that kind of tenacity, we have to suffer and rebound and conquer fear and the kind of noise that gets in your head and makes you want to just give up.  There’s nothing casual about it.

Seeing them, poised at the top of a downhill slope, I wonder, “What are they thinking?”, as they prepare to hurl themselves forward.  Anything could happen! Perfection or some abysmal mistake that ruins everything.

For one Olympian, Skater Joannie Rochette, that happened off the ice.  On Saturday, after arriving in Vancouver to watch her daughter skate, Rochette’s mother experienced a heart attack and passed away.

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Update February 24, 2010

Here is a video of last night’s moving performance.

Truly inspiring and then a puddle of tears.

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February 23, 2010

The following is a partial re-print of a blog post on Yahoo! Sports – click the link in the title to read the whole story…

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Rochette keeping mother’s Olympic dream alive

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – She still hasn’t buried her mother, but here was Joannie Rochette, among the last skaters to leave the practice ice Monday. She took her time leaning up against the boards, slipping a guard around her skate blade.

Joannie Rochette is determined to skate Tuesday evening. To skate for Canada. To skate for the world. To skate for the mother who shared this dream of gliding over Olympic ice.

“Yesterday was the toughest day of her life,” said Nathalie Lambert of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “[On Tuesday] 20,000 people will express the love of the whole country to her.”

Try the whole world.

Some onlookers at a mostly empty Pacific Coliseum were moved to emotion with each practice jump, spin and walk through of her routine. Twice the small gathering of fans and stadium workers loudly applauded her efforts.

“She is very, very strong,” said Benoit Lavoie, President of Skate Canada. “I am very, very proud. I am more than amazed. I’m having emotions even myself [just thinking about it].”

Joannie Rochette, Olympic Skater

Joannie Rochette, 24, had come to Vancouver for the Opening Ceremony and to complete her training here. Her parents, Therese and Normand, arrived Saturday from Quebec and after a brief visit with their daughter went to a downtown apartment they had rented. Later that night, Normand found his wife, 55, unresponsive and rushed her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead early Sunday morning.

Normand then awoke his daughter at the Olympic Village and broke the news of the tragedy.

Team Canada has surrounded Rochette with support, offering a 24-hour presence around her, access to professional help and an open-ended offer for anything she may need.

“Her boyfriend is with her, her coach is with her all the time, as is her sports psychologist,” Lambert said. “She is doing amazingly great. She is strong.”

The Rochettes are your classic skating family and Therese was intricately involved in her daughter’s world-class development. Canadian officials said they first became aware of Joannie as a pre-teen and where they saw her, they saw her mother. They lived then in a tiny hamlet of Quebec, Ile Du Pas (population 564). The two of them, a small-town family with big-time dreams, were inseparable as they drove to and from tournaments.

This Olympic pursuit was more than just a love of skating; it was a love of each other, a shared journey.

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Your Power to Assist by Sending a Single Thought

Recently, I wrote about the power of sending a single thought of love, attention, caring and real assistance – all at once, all together – to one person, one place, one event, one group of people.

When tragedy strikes, we collectively open our hearts and feel pain for ourselves and for others.  Maybe what we’re experiencing is one gigantic healing event.

Joannie will skate tonight (Tuesday, Feb 23, 2010).  We will witness the power of all of our single thoughts to support and comfort her no matter what happens.  Skate well!

photo credits: Joannie Rochette Canada, Joannie Rochette practicing

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Don’t wait! Life passes quickly.

Love yourself, love your people.

Here’s a book that might interest you:

and here’s the story of how I ended up on the cover

(that’s me, second one in from the left)

How boxing and martial arts landed me on the cover of “50 Athletes Over 50 Teach Us to Live a Strong, Healthy Life”

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About Cheryl Ragsdale

Cheryl Ragsdale has written 398 posts on this blog.

Cheryl Ragsdale trains in Mixed Martial Arts with UFC Fighter Kenny Florian and Keith Florian at Florian Martial Arts. She applies her fight training to teaching people how to handle verbal skirmishes in professional and personal relationships. When people behave badly, who do you turn to for support and guidance? Have you chosen the right people to be in your corner? If you’re not sure, Cheryl can help. Schedule some time to talk to her or read her ebook, "So, You Lost the First Round". Use the contact form on this blog or Twitter @thatgirlisfunny

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