Enjoyment and achievement, how do they relate...

[cjsmith]

Thanks to cassidyrose for pointing out this neat Molly Ivins column. The last coupla paragraphs really got me going.

Yeah:

Here's to those of us who like to play dress-up, but don't happen to have the particular kind of genetic twist that'll make it to the fashion show runway. Here's to those of us who lift weights without the myostatin deletion gene. Here's to those of us who enjoy trying, even when we're not the best, even when we're surrounded by overly competitive spirits and fragile blustering egos and people with walls and shelves full of awards we ourselves will never win. Here's to those of us who have to work twice as hard as the next guy, but who have a good time doing it. Here's to those of us who can enjoy life even though we'll never get kudos or recognition or sometimes even thanks for what we do.

And you know what?

Here's to those of us who are still learning how to enjoy life under those circumstances. Here's to those of us who do hurt when we hear someone mutter "loser", who are sad that we're always the bridesmaid. Here's to those of us who congratulate the winner and smile for the family photo anyway, because our pain should be invisible. (After all, we only got what we deserved, right? Ask anybody with awards on his shelf and that's what he'll be happy to tell you.) Here's to everyone who has ever felt pain when a dream finally died.