Olympics are over and just in time.

I have really enjoyed the Olympics this year. I am really amazed at the guts that some of these athletes have shown. I am now sitting on the couch waiting on the final game between the hockey teams of Canada and the United States to begin. I rarely watch hockey, but this one has me intrigued. Actually, that is what the Olympics does for me every time. It causes me to have an appreciation for things that I don't normally have an appreciation for. I know that there are people who devote their entire lives to things like ice skating, and luge and bobsled and skiing. I don't find time to appreciate what they do until the Olympics. Then I stop and watch at the exact same moment in time that the entire world does, and for some reason it makes me feel that this planet is a little smaller place. We are all interested. We all care. I feel that we all appreciate the tremendous amount of time and training that it takes to get that good at something so incredibly difficult to learn. It is great to see athletes who are so blessed with strength and power and who have devoted themselves so intensely to accomplishing their goals.

I would never have the nerve to stand at the starting line of a giant slolom ski run looking down and barely able to see the first gate through the snowfall like the people I watched this Olympics. Not to mention the courage it took to get on a luge after an Olympic luger was killed on a practice run this year. It was crazy to see the bobsleighs hurtling down the course at over 90 MPH, it is so scary. That is why some people can be Olympic athletes and others cannot. I don't have the courage to do these things, but I do admire what it takes to do it. I was especially impressed by the ice skater from Canada who was able to continue with her performances to eventually win the bronze when her mother passed away unexpectedly while in Vancouver to watch her daughter compete. Her mother was only a little older than I am right now, so it was particularly unsettling for me I guess. I could feel her heart breaking as she skated and it was really touching. She kept looking up as to tell her mom that she knew she was watching.

I get a little sad when the torch goes out each Olympics, but frankly, I have spent so much time watching that it will help me to get back to a normal routine now that they are ending. It isn't long now till March Madness though, and I will watch more college basketball than normal for a few weeks! I am excited about the Texas A&M team this year, and I think that they could surprise some people in this tournament. We are in the last days of February and for me, March Madness is literal this year. This may be the most busy March I have ever had due to the wedding, finishing the house, preparations for State, and doing extra work to prepare for the new Career Center and its needs. This weekend I am creating a list of new equipment needed for the studio at CCE, and it is a lot of work to think about all the inventory needed. It is exciting times, and I think we have a lot to look forward to this month. Off to the races!

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