September 29, 2024
Hi folks....Paris is hummin' along at this point for me....the school year is off to an ok start...i do like my kids this year....super nice set of girls...and the boys....well, they are squirrely ones...but that i can deal with....we took them to the netherlands for an outward bound week, which was a HUGE challenge due to my group and the physicality...i gotta say these trips get harder and harder each year....the nice thing here is that i can say i do not want to go...i know they are great for team bonding and for getting the kids out of their comfort zones...but i am not feelin' it anymore 😉
my life outside of work is still my focus...which is lovely....and i have been to quite a few things...the symphony, an opera (falstaff - which was incredible), live music and of course have been enjoying my balcony....but it is starting to get rather chilly in the mornings and evenings these days...and the rain has come back....the weather is something i am not super fond of in paris....but when it is nice out, it is amazing....there was also patrimony weekend, where the public is invited once a year into otherwise off limits buildings...it was incredible....so life is just humming along....i will get an update out about paris, but first the PARALYMPICS!!!!!!
i was so lucky to be living here for these games (both the olympics and paralympics) and i do have to say the french turned out and supported these amazing athletes in droves during the paralympics, so it really was an incredible experience....i was talking with an american family the whole time, whose son was here and competing and got to see him win one of his two gold medals....which was incredible to experience...overall the athletes for the paras were mind-blowing....these folks are in peak condition and the top of their fields and are just mindblowing to watch....from one handed wheelchair tennis, to swimming without limbs to running blind with a guide (who has to be in peak shape as well)....it was phenomenal to see these athletes compete and share in their joy at their accomplishments...it has also taught me about perseverance and grit & here's hoping i don't complain about what i have had to overcome, because in many cases it is nothing compared to these outstanding athletes.....i am soooooo glad i went to as many competitions as i could and watched these athletes hit the pinnacle moments of their chosen sport....i am so hopeful i will get the chance to experience these games, as well as the olympics, in LA in 2024....i guess we'll see what happens🤞 on with the pictures.....and there a quite a few of them 😉 this commentary is the same that i posted on facebook and instagram, but the pictures might be different!
Paralympics Event #1 - Taekwondo at the Grand Palais!!!
i was back in the amazing sport zone for 1.5 weeks...i had been missing the olympic spirit & sports!!! But then i got a second round!!! These matches were incredible to watch...so much power!!! Plus, i got to see zakia khudadadi, refugee sportswoman who fled from afghanistan, specifically the taliban, win the bronze in her weight level!!!
she trains in france & the arena went crazy!!!! It was fantastic!!! Plus, the grand palais is stunning backdrop for this event!!! Especially when the athletes going for medals walked down the grand staircase to the arena!!!! WOW!!! And phyrnge, the mascot, now had a prosthetic leg
👩🦽➡️🧑🦽➡️
for two days i watched wheelchair basketball...wow!!! What an aggressive & challenging game...from dribbling while rollin' down the court to shootin' while movin', these players are super strong & super amazing!!! They ram into each other & sometimes knock each other over...aggressive!!! Got to see the play twice...won 1 and lost 1 (team NL was incredible) and play once & they won!!! Also saw 
who are fantastic on the court!!! So much fun!!!! 
🦽at the famous Roland Garros!!! Amazing to watch these humans!!! The players must be strapped into a wheelchair for the games & get penalized if they come off the seat...many of the men we saw yesterday also have disabilities with their hands and arms, so a few had a different type of connection to the racquet!!! We also saw the 1st ranked player from the UK and a french player who is 53!!! It was a beautiful day at the court & I am just in awe of these athletes!!!
this sport is wild!!! Wheelchairs that are used as battering rams!!! Wheels get smashed off, chairs fall over & because they are so heavy, the players need help getting back up!!! I got to watch the USA vs GBR...and they were incredible!!! They did not beat japan later in the competition, so they took home the silver
we do have one woman who plays - sarah adam & she, plus the 3 first string players are an incredible team!! Lots of points scored & lots of action!!! This sport was so cool to watch!!!! USA!!!👩🦽➡️🧑🦽➡️
players have to block the ball on the ground with their bodies and if it bounces too high a team can get a penalty shot...and its one player who throws and the other who blocks...the goal is the entire width of the court...super interesting to experience...so different being in a silent stadium!!! These were quarter finals...so brazil & turkiye are headed to the semi-finals!!! 
gold medal match between Iran (7x previous gold medal team) vs Bosnia-Herzegovina!!! The crowd was packed with fans for both teams!!! And the spirit was just like the olympic volleyball stadium had been...wild & super fun!!! The 2nd tallest man in the world (8'1") morteza mehrzad, plays for iran & dwarfs everyone on the court...he was amazing to watch (you will be able to spot him in the pics - he does have a disability with one of his legas being quite a bit shorter than the other)...but bosnia really played him well...in the end though, iran won (their 8th time)!!! And the stadium erupted!!! What a cool evening of volleyball
and the marathon
...swimming was incredible...so many of the athletes were missing part of or entire arms...some missing 3 or 4 limbs...some were blind...all were so incredible to watch!!!! in the pics...the pic with the long poles are the swimmers guides, warning them about the wall & turning and the shot with the one woman way ahead of the rest is j yuyan, from china...who won her 7th gold of these olympics last night!!!
then i got to see the finish of the this morning at invalides...timed it perfectly...the men in these shots are soe of the top placers of the race!!! And the team in tandem is a blind runner with his guide!!! Amazing athletes, with an incredible back drop!!! and then i got to go to the closing ceremony!!!!
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