Emily Swallow Instagram – It felt like a fedora kind of day for #thisisthewaywednesday this week. (Thanks, @penmanhats) My in-laws were visiting this week and we went to see a movie that, if it weren’t based on a true story, would feel like a Hallmark movie. And before you blow up my comments, I’m not slamming Hallmark movies! I tried to find one when I was in Winnipeg! (https://youtu.be/okkI2_fP1Jg?si=TmRrNtVQ5ccFK7es) But when the credits roll on a Hallmark movie, we are aware that we have to shift back to “real life.” We went to see The Boys in the Boat, based on the book of the same name, based on the true story of the 1936 University of Washington JV Crew Team and their quest to compete in the Olympics, which were in Berlin that year. They had NO REASON to think they could aspire to that goal. Several of the guys on the team only joined because they needed help paying tuition while the US was coming out of The Depression. Crew was not a popular sport on the west coast, and was most accessible to upper class athletes on the east coast. But this team of men poured out their sweat and focus and gave up a need to have perfect control in order to work together as a team – no small feat, because rowing involves breathing and moving in perfect rhythm with your fellow rowers—row too fast and you lose control, row too slowly and…well, you lose. They adapted to different bodies of water, they rode the wave of nerves when they were performing for crowds of thousands—and when Daniel James Brown asked Joe Rantz if he could write a book about him, Rantz said “No, you can write a book about the boat.” Who’s part of your team? Tag them below!👇 #thisistheway #teamwork #rowing #theboysintheboat #thearmorer #americanspirit #grit #resilience #joy #hardworkpaysoff