Wow, what a difference a couple of days makes here. I agree with what everyone's pretty much said already. WISH is a welcoming place, it's just growing and with that growth comes change, and the Challenge/Game & discussions about the shirts are just part of that growth.
"When you're finished changing, you're finished." ~Ben Franklin
FWIW, one of things I like about WISH is this willingness to talk about things without all the drama & second-guessing & secret hurt feelings. IF WISH was perfect, I wouldn't be here because I'd be too flipping insecure to join the ranks. But you make me feel like I have something valuable to contribute, in my imperfection and my snarkiness and my non-athletic clumsiness.
What's more, I'm glad for the growth, with all its growing pains, and for the challenge. I'm a lurker who came out of hiding because of the Goofy, decided to stay out after having met some cool WISHers during race weekend, and have felt welcomed here in part because of the challenge and the good-natured ribbing of the teams (not to mention the friendliness of all the people posting on various WISH threads).
I like the challenge not because it taps into my competitive nature--although it does--and not because it
makes me do anything to try and win the challenge. The challenge, like WISH in general, just encourages me to attempt my best, try new things, to succeed and to fail, and to laugh at myself. I can't ask for a better place, a place where people celebrate my attempts with me as much, if not more, than I do myself.
I could go on about how much I've enjoyed meeting and getting to know people through the challenge, the weekly threads, the races, etc., and I probably will in some future, long-winded post. (Go figure.) I've definitely benefited from WISH advice, thoughtfulness, humor, encouragement, and trash-talking. But I'll save all that stuff for another time. Instead, I'd like to address WWDave, Mel, or anyone else who's graciously & needlessly taking too much weight for any passing, minor (IMO) discomfort on the WISH boards. I quoted Ben Franklin above, now let me quote me, single-life, circa 1990:
"It's not about you, it's about me." There's no reason for the apologies, the mea culpas, the feel-bads, or the overwhelming sense of responsibility for what's going on. Not only are these discussions not that serious in the overall scheme of things, they're productive. They demonstrate we as individuals and as a collective are invested in what's going on. We're all part of the WISH family (gratuitous Ohana reference).
And what's more, even if we were involved in screaming, knock-down, hair-pulling fights (my real-world family), any perceived dysfunction of the WISH family doesn't fall on your shoulders. We're all participating in this team, we're all adults, and we're all responsible for what's going on. Any responses any of us have to what's going on the results of our own doing--we own our actions, reactions, and feelings. So don't blame yourself, we don't. After all, "It's not (simply) about you, it's about me." What I do/don't do, how I act/don't act, and how I choose/don't choose to participate comes down to me. You're involved to some extent, of course, but really, it's all about me. (Oh, yeah, I was fun to date, wasn't I?
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Now, here's to another fun-filled supportive week of WISH, of well-WISHers, and another week of the miles/minutes challenge. (In which Ohana, of course, kicks butt--maybe not yours, but someone's butt--while wearing some form of WISH shirt.
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I was new, and felt totally and completely awkward - and in awe!! (and I wanted a cheat sheet of who was who, and pictures of avatars, screen names, etc, etc!!)
Then I have to pop it back in (which isn't the most fun thing). So, I don't know what I can do, and like you, I worried that I would drag the team down. Instead, I am inspired to keep going and to try new things (I thought about the triathlon, but I think you have to get your face wet? I don't get my face wet).
