Beating A Dead Horse

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Amy

Guess what this post is going to be about? If you guessed The Olympics, you would be right! If you aren’t a fan of hearing what I have to say about this topic, I suggest you tune out for a couple of weeks.

Last night I was watching the US Women’s Gymnastic team win the gold when a PSA of sorts came on. It wasn’t a commercial, there was no sponsor, it was just clips of Jordyn Weiber with a voice over from some guy and then Nastia Lukin.

It starts off asking what makes a gymnast and if it was seeing and being inspired by other gymnasts.

…the sacrifice and dream pushed you to become champion of America and then champion of the world. …This could be real. This could be me. And then it all explodes in a most wrenching way.

There was some talk of teamwork and Jordyn needing her team and her team needing Jordyn.

…what would that say about Jordyn Weiber?

Insert Nastia Lukin

That her soul is richer than most. And that champion can still be revealed. And in gymnastics, she can still be remembered forever.

I don’t have a problem with the message. Not in the slightest bit. In fact, I’m sure Jordyn Weiber is very moved by these words, but why not just say them to Jordyn in person? Why was it necessary for it to be broadcast to the entire country? Are one of these messages being prepared for all athletes who don’t qualify for one of their events? And why wasn’t their another message congratulating Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman?

I don’t know Jordyn Weiber, but just the fact that she has been competing in gymnastics for more than half her life, I’m willing to bet she has developed quite a thick skin. Do I think she was upset about not making the all-around finals in the Olympics? Absolutely – the pain was evident on her face in the hundreds of photos that have been plastered all over the TV, Internet and any other visual media.

In an interview with Jordyn’s mom, she says how upset both she and Jordyn were, but as the hours passed, Jordyn was sounding stronger and knew that she had to be there for her team. Quite a mature and appropriate reaction to something that will no doubt stay with her for many years.

If you paid attention to this at all, it wasn’t that Jordyn screwed up in her routine, it was that her teammates were just that good that they basically outscored her this time. Yeah – there are other gymnast competing besides her and they are really fucking good!

This is the part that irritates the hell out of me. There are 529 American athletes competing in the London games and how many can you name? Not including: Michael, Ryan, Jordyn, Missy, Misty, Kerri, and anyone on the “Dream Team”.

I’m not saying we should be able to name every athlete, but why are we focusing on just a few and then when something doesn’t go quite as planned we act like it’s the end of the world? Michael Phelps didn’t medal in the first race he swam in and Ryan Lochte won the gold, can’t it end there? Shouldn’t we just be happy about the gold instead of trying to weave some back story into it?

These people are the best athletes in the world. I guarantee no one is harder on them than they are on themselves. Why must we continue to discuss the what if’s, how come’s, given just a little bit more’s, etc? Is there anyone out there that can or should be questioning Michael Phelp’s performance? How can you criticize the most decorated Olympian in history? I can’t even imagine the restraint these athletes exhibit when being interviewed.

Too Much Olympics?

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Amy

I have been watching The Olympics during almost every waking hour. The only events that I’m not really into are soccer and basketball, unless USA is playing. I’m not sure what it is about these two that I don’t find appealing…well, I don’t like soccer ever, but I usually do enjoy basketball.

Last night before I went to bed I was watching the women’s gymnastic prelims or qualifying round – I don’t know the terminology. The kids had been in bed for about 30 minutes when I heard a bedroom door open. Kamryn came in and said she couldn’t sleep because she wasn’t tired.

I let her watch for a few minutes and then, on her own, she got up and went back to her room. I watched for about another 45 minutes before shutting off the TV and going to bed.

I don’t sleep through the night and usually wake up multiple times. Sometimes I can roll over and fall back asleep, other times I toss and turn for hours. Last night I woke up at 11:30 and thought I heard someone talking. I looked towards the bedroom door and could see the glow of the living room TV.

Ryan was right next to me so I got up to see who (although I had a good idea) was watching TV. Kamryn was perched on the couch, in the dark, with remote in hand. I asked her what she was doing and she said, “Watching The Olympics.”

Kamryn has been pretty excited about watching all of the events. She wanted to watch boxing on Saturday and today we were watching kayaking. It doesn’t surprise me that she likes watching gymnastics, swimming and diving. I liked watching all of those when I was younger too, but I like that she is branching out to some of the lesser known sports.

That being said, I don’t think I can allow my 5 year old to get up in the middle of the night to watch the games. Maybe in another 4 years it would be a bit more acceptable, but she’s not even able to spell Olympics, much less make the decision on when she should be watching them.

The only thing that I considered was that she may have not been 100% awake when she ventured out into the living room and turned the on TV. I considered demanding that she go to bed, but it wasn’t a battle I felt like fighting. I left her in the living room to watch her late night gymnastics meet.

A few minutes later, I couldn’t hear the voices from the TV and no longer saw the glow reflecting off the hallway wall. I got up again and saw that her bedroom door was still open so I went back into the living room and found Kamryn laying flat on the couch with her arms crossed across her chest.

It was a little disturbing. I tried to wake her, although not really that hard and typically, if I persist, she’ll start to laugh if she’s just faking. I picked her up and put her in her bed, where she remained until 7:30 am.

I haven’t asked Kamryn if she remembers getting up last night because that will only encourage her to do it again. She’s kind of odd that way.

Unexpected Firsts

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Amy

Tomorrow is my birthday and today I realized that I have done a few things this week that I have never done before. The biggest and maybe the one I was the most excited about was riding in a limousine. Maybe you can tell here…In all of my 35 years, I never had even sat in a limo. I know it seems that I live the most glamorous life, what with my blogger and stay at home mom titles, and I hate to disappoint, but alas, I do not get chauffeured around town.

My next first is watching The Olympics with both of my children. I love The Olympics. I recorded the opening ceremony last night since I was out carousing around San Diego in a limo and we watched it this morning. Kamryn watched the Beijing Olympics with me, but Rory was in utero…barely. I think I was 4 weeks pregnant. We are anxiously awaiting the gymnastics tonight. Rory is a Michael Phelps fan, although he can’t tell the difference between Michael and Ryan Lochte when they have on their swimming gear.

Yesterday Kamryn lost her first tooth so I got to play Tooth Fairy for the first time. I will admit that I almost forgot. I had her put her tooth in the tooth pillow I made for her and hang it on her door. I am not convinced that I would be able to get in and out of her room without waking her. Luckily, I saw that pillow hanging on the door when we got home last night or I know I would have totally forgot about it.

It’s been a fairly exciting week for me and tomorrow, I cross over into my late thirties.