Vive le Tour!!

You hear the criticisms whenever a big sporting event suddenly grabs the attention of everyone in the world. “Where were all these people last week?”; “How come you’re interested in curling now when you don’t know a kizzle kazzle from a wobbler?”; or “Seriously. Put down the vuvuzela and back away.”

Guilty.

But I never feel guilty about only paying attention every two to four years! I never buy into the skepticism surrounding the Games (although I understand there’s much to criticize). I would think the athletes and the die hard fans would be happy to have us care, even if we will not become committed followers.

I know I certainly feel that way when someone, for even a brief moment, shows interest in my fiber work.  They will say, “Oh my grandma did that! I haven’t seen anyone do that for years” or “That is so interesting about spinning wheels. I never understood that!” And I hand them my personal teaching card or a flyer for my Guild’s next event with all my enthusiasm and hope that they will join us, knowing there is a very high probability that they are going to throw it away and never give it another thought.

So why do I still keep cards on me everywhere I go? Because the real point of what’s happening is connection. Connecting with others in ways that emphasize our common ground, the things we want to share that are positive and hopeful and happy. Folks who, in fiber or sports, have dedicated themselves to something so completely that they have trouble understanding why everyone doesn’t love it.  What we really want are the stories surrounding events like the Olympics and the World Cup because they are about people. They are stores of commitment, teamwork, challenge and perseverance.  I don’t connect to everything about sports but I understand those stories because they are about all of us.

Thus, it’s a pretty cool moment when sports and my fiber work come together in a way that connects to all those things.  TOUR DE FLEECE, BABY! Ok, yes, it’s a silly name but since multiple people at the gym have totally misunderstood me when I said I was going to a “spinning class”, it seemed inevitable that a world-wide “spinning yarn” event would spring up next to the world’s biggest “spinning cycles” event.

And I love it to death.  Every year I join a team of my fellow spinners and we set goals and we cheer each other on as we reach for those accomplishments and every year, miles and miles of beautiful yarns are spun as we celebrate our connection to fiber and to each other.  That’s something you just can’t criticize.

TOUR SPINNING 2019!!!