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Writer's pictureKaren Astromsky

Is Life Like Ice Skating in the Olympics?


As I write this blog on a frigid cold afternoon, I am recalling the past seventeen years of my life. It was just this past week that I retired from my WW coaching job. I am trying to remember where I was in my life seventeen years ago, how little my Natalie was, in pre-school--and now she is in her third year of college. I have lived in six houses in those seventeen years--five of which are about 2 miles apart from each other or less. And yes, I feel like I have gone around in circles in some ways. But there is more.


There is a treasured aspect to consistency. Learning a job, knowing what to expect, feeling that there is a predictability to your life--that matters. Having a special sense of purpose to what you are doing matters even more. Growing in your character, your skills, developing your talents keeps life interesting. In that way, I feel like we all move in circles, leaving our mark on the world.


And like all things--they give way to new things. Endings create new beginnings. The lessons learned, the experiences shared, the memories created form the start of a new chapter.


I have to confess, I wasn't all that interested in the Winter Olympics except for a little of the ice skating. I don't know how they do it, but the repetition, the big circles--the figure 8's, the twists, spiraling through the air and sometimes crash landing and sometimes gliding upright on a razor thin edge of steel is a reminder to me that we take the best of what we know, what we've practiced and worked on and repeated and somehow flow that into the next step.




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Louise Olson
Louise Olson
Feb 25, 2022

I too will miss you as a WW coach Karen. I can say that was one of the blessings of the pandemic to have met you through weekly zoom meetings. I am thankful your blog and have the opportunity to continue my connection with you. I love your inspirational writing. I look forward to hearing more from you.

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Had I known that Coach Karen would be retiring from WW--I would have come to Workshop more often--to "sit at her feet", take in her inspiration, and marvel at how transforming her presentation was each time. Karen is profoundly missed from WW, yet always remembered with joy, gratitude and love.

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Interesting—i had so little interest this year—this year I only watched Curling!

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