The Olympics are over. And I have a few things to get off my chest. Bear with me in this melancholy post and I'll try to post a fun "Flora Goes to Preschool" blog tomorrow.
This was a very emotional Olympics for me. I think this is the first time I've watched the Olympics and actually "got it." These athletes pour everything into their sport for four years and it all comes down to a hundredth of a second or a fraction of an inch. The victories were just as tear-jerking as the defeats.
It was also an emotional Olympics because I realized that I will never be the best in the world at anything. I won't be a world champion. Ever. I like to be the best. It's frustrating to know that I'll never be the best. Doesn't that sound vain and just awful? It's true though. How amazing for those athletes to be deemed the BEST in the WORLD!? The FASTEST in the WORLD? Wow. It's going to take me a while to be okay with never being the best. And you can't placate me by offering extremely specific scenarios. Yes, I am the BEST mom to Flora, Scout, and Timber . . . but I'm also the WORST mom to Flora, Scout, and Timber. I may be the BEST Stefanie Janelle Borkert in the world, but I'm also the WORST Stefanie Janelle Borkert. No worries though. I'm not slipping into a depression over it or anything. It's probably part of getting older -- realizing there are some things that you will never do and learning to be okay with that.
Wow, so that was upbeat. Maybe we should tone things down some.... *sarcasm*
The Olympics always make me reflect on where I've been in my life during previous Olympic games (and by "Olympics" I mean the Summer Olympics -- the Winter games don't really count in my book).
So here's my Olympic journey:
1996 -- The Olympics probably happened but I was a teenager. Since they didn't directly affect me I'm sure I paid them no mind. Plus there was no internet and NBC was probably one of the channels that we didn't get on our tv. I think we got a total of 3 channels. I have no memory of any Olympic games prior to 1996 either (although Bob Costas has done a good job of filling me in on the details over the years).
2000 -- The 2000 Olympics kicked off in September of my Freshmen year of college. Such a big transitional year for me! And such fun! I remember watching the Olympics between classes. My roommate and I were keeping a medal count on our wall. Good times!
2004 -- The Olympics welcomed us to our new home in Kansas City. I'll always remember being in a new city, a new state, a new apartment watching the Olympics. It was a very nice distraction during a very chaotic time. And I was married this time so Chris and I were able to share our first Olympics together. I'm glad he's a fan. We kept each other up-to-date on the medal counts.
2008 -- What a difference four years makes! I watched part of the 2008 Olympics in a hotel in Branson, MO (we had met my parents and Shane to go to Silver Dollar City! Yay!). Flora was about 9 months old and I was about five months pregnant with Scout and working full-time. Probably the most exhausting year of my life. I remember thinking that Flora would be 4-years-old the next time the Olympics were played and the baby-in-my-belly would be 3-years-old. It seemed SOOOO far away. Almost impossible.
2012 -- Another transitional time for us. New people, new things, new places. Saying goodbye to the baby phase and hello to three silly kids who try to imitate every Olympic event they see. Flora's new goal in life is to be in the Olympics because she's good at "gymnastic-ing." As the Olympics end I prepare to send my oldest baby off to preschool. It's just two days a week, but I know it's the first little nudge of the long process of pushing her out of the nest. Preschool today, college tomorrow. I won't think about that when I drop her off tomorrow though.
2016 -- Life will be SO different. Flora will be 8-yrs-old, Scout will be 7-yrs-old, and Timber will be 5-yrs-old (but getting very close to being 9, 8, and 6-yrs). I'll be sending Timber off to Kindergarten just as the 2016 Olympics draw to a close. I can't even image how weird that will be.
I assume time flies for the aspiring Olympic athletes just as fast as it flies for me. One day you're hoping to make the team and the next you're standing on the podium trying to soak in the moment. And yet it probably seems to drag on endlessly during grueling training sessions in those in-between years.
The longest days, the shortest years . . .2016 will be here before we know it.
