Olymp-kicks

My house is a mess. Really a mess. Because the living space is pretty small, we generally try to tidy things up on a continual basis. There just isn't enough surface space on the floor to accommodate toys and people trying to get from one room to another. Same for our bedrooms. Aside from one basket of clothes that never seems to get put away, we simply don't have the dresser space to leave piles of stuff...usually. Also, since we are cohabitating with a dog and a cat, fur rolls around like so much tumble-weed if we don't vacuum a couple of times a week. I'm sure there are plenty of folks that would consider that insufficient but it's enough to pull off the air of casual orderliness. It's clear we are not neat freaks but we are mostly free of strange odors, piles of debris, rotting dishes, and overflowing litter boxes. Generally, usually, mostly...not now. It's the WINTER OLYMPICS and we do nothing but watch TV and eat whatever quick thing I can unwrap and nuke for dinner because heaven forbid we should miss even a minute of the semi-finals of the nordic combined event. In the morning, when poor Mark has to go off to work, I turn on the morning show for a re-cap of the events and personal interviews with some of the athletes. We are so into it, we even love the Italian food spots. If it is even remotely associated with the Olympics, we're all over it. Our girls have not failed to notice our passion. Mimi rushes the TV gleefully shrieking "Pics, Wheeeeeeeee!" (Translation: Olympics, Wheeeeeeeee!) every time an athlete skis, glides, sleds, skates or moves across the screen. Julia is a bit more selective. She'll happily watch any event because she has figured out that interest in the Olympics earns her a later bed time (how can we possibly impose an 8:00 bedtime when the Flying Tomato needs to score big on his second run to even come close to qualifying for a medal?) but her heart belongs to the women's figure skaters. There have been enough clips of Michelle Kwan to gain her interest and now she spends every commercial break performing her "program" wearing mama's size 10 flip flops as she glides, twizzles, and triple sow kows on the carpet. We are thrilled that our daughters share our enthusiasm for the Olympics. We hope they will come to understand how amazing it is that athletes from all over the world can join together and compete at one event. How each participant brings their own story of challenges overcome and desire to be the best they can be. We hope our girls are touched and motivated by athletes like Lindsey Kildow who continued to race despite a painful hip/back injury, by athletes like anyone from south of the equator who come to try their hardest in spite of having no chance of winning a medal, by athletes like the silver medalist in pairs figure skating event who came crashing to her knees in a bad fall only to rise again and skate the rest of her program to fulfill her own dreams and those of her partner. And the stories go on and on. Some people complain about all the back-stories and human interest bits. My hope is that by getting to understand the level of commitment and dedication required to become an Olympic athlete, our girls will be better, stronger, and faster in whatever they choose to do in this world. Who knows... give us a few years and maybe you'll even see Mimi racing in the Giant Slalom or Julia performing her fancy super high "Olymp-kicks" on Olympic Ice.