I was 9 years old. I remember my mom and I watching, cheering, and screaming as she scored her perfect 10. That was the beginning of my love for the Olympics. And boy does NBC do a great job with all those stories that make tears come to your eyes. The first year Rob and I were married I was thrilled to find out, I wasn't the only one who had a love for the Olympics. We had Rikki and Tom come to our apartment and watch the opening ceremonies of Atlanta '96, then each night afterward we watched the games religiously. Rob even broke our bed vaulting over our clothes hamper into the bed after the Li Xiao Shuang won his 6th or 7th gold medal in vaulting. (he will not appreciate me sharing this fact)
So....last night we all gathered around and watched the opening ceremonies live, in another language. And guess who showed up as one of the last torch bearers, Li Xiao Shuang, I thought Rob might try his vault move again, but the beds are alot harder, so he abstained. We understood most of what was happening last night, but decided when we woke up this morning to watch the highlights from NBC. Thanks to the miracle of slingbox, we fast forwarded the NBC coverage to the explanations of all the things we weren't sure we understood. We have several dedicated channels here showing the games, but we are opting for the slingbox versions....yea NBC.....for the highlights and stories.
I was so happy last night my kids loved all of the ceremony and really got excited during the parade of countries. They are pretty good with geography thanks to their travels and their new friends who live all over the world. So, as each country arrived in the stadium they would cheer extra loud if someone they knew lived there. Hudson particularly enjoyed picking out all of the NBA players from the different countries. We couldn't believe he could spot them before we could or the news coverage. Hannah enjoyed all the costumes and thought the whole thing was spectacular.
One moment I feel I have to share was provided by Hudson. You know, the minds of children. We had discussed throughout the evening (remember we didn't watch in English so Rob and I were the commentators) as we looked at the different athletes "Oooh I bet she is a bball player" or "That person is a long distance runner for sure" or "He has to be a weight lifter", etc. etc. So, throughout the night, we talked about certain countries strengths, like cold countries are stronger in winter olympics (eg.. cool runnings) and other stereotypes like that. As we approached hour 3 Iraq marched in. Hudson was laying on the couch and popped up and said, "Oh I bet they are REALLY good at sharp shooting." Hmmm. Oh the things he says.
Happy Olympic Watching, and NO we live nowhere near any of the activities.
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4 comments:
I wondered how that bed got broken. You must have prayed for adventure in your life when you were young. Your life will never be dull with Rob for a husband and Hudson for a son. The apple seldom falls far from the tree. Donna
The opening ceremony was spectacular and they made me think even more about the 4 of you. I was also thinking of what a great education for Hannah and Hudson to have been exposed to so many cultures in their travels.(do New Jersey and Geary Indiana count as a different cultures? They felt like it at the time :)
We will be anxiously watching these great games and heartwarming stories with the 4 of you.
Debbie,
The culture difference in Gary could possibly have been bigger than the culture difference we are now experienceing.... what a trip!
Rob
What a marvelous insight into the Olympics from around the world. I know- Joseph and SarahBeth have been amazed at the Olympics, and they have been cheering out loud for Phelps, Coughlin, and other Americans too. We've had a great time seeing them get excited about all the extraordinary athletic events. Like they say, through a child's eyes, the world is different, and what a blessing to be able to see from their perspectives as they share their words of wisdom about the events and athletes. Thanks you again for sharing!
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