Carrying the flag.

I remembered the other day about carrying my province's flag in a provincial games. I was maybe 12 or 13 and a competitive swimmer. I was so excited to march in. There were a bunch of us carrying the flag together. The man beside me had no legs and used a wheelchair. He was old to my thinking (probably in his early 20s if I think about it) and very very nice to talk to a fidgety and excited kid who was bouncing off the walls. There were others all carrying the flag but I was beside him. He guided me in by my holding on to the side of his chair with one hand and the flag with the other. We got talking about our disabilities. He too was a swimmer and so we talked swimming and training and then I started to think about him. How did he swim so fast with no legs? I was jealous. He didn't have to do kick drills. I always hated kick drills. He laughed when I said it. It was a very clear realization to me that we were all athletes here. All working to be as good as we could be. All facing different challenges and overcoming them. But that is what all athletes do isn't it? We just have some more visible barriers to overcome.