Kerri and April were favored to win the gold medal in Beach Volleyball at the Rio Olympics. Kerri had previously won 3 gold medals (Athens, Beijing, and London). April won a silver medal in London.  Their partnership had proven to be successful over the past three years.  They had numerous podium finishes in both the domestic and international events.

In the early rounds of Olympic competition, Kerri and April played very well and even sailed through the round of 16 and quarterfinals. Their semi-final matchup was against the #2 seed team from Brazil.  We were pretty confident going into this match that Kerri and April would win.  However, the outcome was not as expected. The Brazilian team came out victorious and knocked our girls out of the gold medal round.

Kerri and April were (in their words) devastated. The look on their faces were of shock and disbelief.  They now had less than 24 hours to come to grips with the loss and prepare to play the #1 Brazilian team for the bronze medal.  They were unable to sleep that night.  Instead they stared at the ceiling in their hotel rooms replaying the match in their heads.

Preparing for the bronze medal match was extremely difficult for these two. I heard April mention that she wasn’t mentally ready to face this match until it was almost time to play.  However Kerri and April are champions.  They handled their defeat in the semi-final match with professionalism and grace.  Now they must step on that sand and give it their all as representatives of the USA.

The first game of the match went to Brazil. In the second game our girls were struggling until about half way through.  Then the momentum changed.  Kerri and April were blocking and digging like I have never seen before.  The Brazilian crowd grew quiet and the USA crowd cheered with enthusiasm.  The second and third game were won by the USA and our girls captured the bronze!

This story is just a brief recap of what I witnessed. The underlying emotion and perspective can only be adequately described by Kerri and April themselves.  This makes me think of how important it is to document or journal the important events in our lives while they are still fresh in our minds. What a great addition to your Family Legacy Drawer this would be.

Take time now to jot down the important events in your life. Be sure to describe your feelings about the event, the lessons you learned and what you want future generations to understand.  Do this now before the details start to fade from your memory.  Your family will benefit greatly from your documented experiences and lessons learned in life.