http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/s...o-reach-olympics-is-the-familys-too.html?_r=2
this article is really emocional and breathtaking.. here is the story of Zawadzki family.... the difficulties that had to happen for Agnes become a member of the Olympic team, and the hard work of her mother, grueling work hours... I really hope the best for Agnes and her mother.. she definitively is an inspiration!
Good Lord, what an article. Jolanta Zawadski makes me think of some of my Eastern European friends, who have also worked as home health aides, housekeepers, and hotel chambermaids, often six or seven days a week, so they can give their kids a good start in life. Often people double up in their apartments, sharing maybe with an adult son or the brother, to save everyone some rent money. They often send money home to the rest of the family (maybe grandchildren) in the old country. Having seen this up close, I can begin to imagine what the Zawadskis' daily life has been like. The burden on Mrs. Zawadski is great, but it's also significant for Agnes, who must feel at this moment that it was all for naught. and that she is the culprit. That's devastating. (She's wrong, but at the moment of extreme loss, that's what seems most obvious.)
When a life of sacrifice doesn't lead to the desired goal, what happens next? Not that the other skaters are any less deserving of glory than Agnes, but there's a special heartbreak when such extraordinary adversity is involved. I hope that whatever Agnes does next, there is a happy outcome for all of them, and a productive life that is a little less stringent.