olympic memories, revisited

it's crazy to realize that we have had this blog for so long that i remember writing a post about the  summer olympics the last time they hit the scene four years ago.  seeing as how much olympic fever is coursing through the veins of our children these days, i felt compelled to find my entry from 2008 and read it to them as we took a trip down memory lane.

the crazy thing?  a few hours prior to finding the post, i had our ipad in my lap, with liam and susanna on either side of me, crouched over the screen as we watched players from some of the most obscure countries on the planet battle it out in table tennis.  in case you didn't know, liam tends to become obsessed with things, and devotes probably 90% of his waking hours to thinking and dreaming and discussing ad nauseum whatever his current obsession may be.  this summer's obsession?  ping-pong.  way back in june -- eight long weeks ago -- he played it with his cousin down in atlanta, and has talked non-stop ever since about getting his own set for his birthday.  after i explained to him that we have nowhere to put a ping-pong table, he looked up the measurements in one of his sports encyclopedias, canvassed the house with a measuring tape, and declared the kitchen to be the perfect spot for this new addition.  which, let's face it, is exactly what i had in mind when we renovated.  ("just make sure," i told the architect, "that you leave enough floor space between the island and the pantry so we can put up a ping-pong table.  i think our green walls will coordinate nicely.")

i guess what they say is true -- the more things change, the more things stay the same.

olympic memories 

posted tuesday, august 5, 2008

as all the hype of 8/8/08 approaches (if you've been living under a rock, that's the day the summer olympics begin), chris and i are reminded of the special connection we have with this four-year event. last time around, we were sitting in our family room in asheville enjoying the festivities of the opening ceremonies (or, rather, chris was sitting, while i was kind of sprawled out all over the floor, as i was nine months pregnant.) right around the time zimbabwe took center stage, i turned to chris and told him that i really wasn't feeling great, and left to go take a warm bath.

four hours later, liam was born.

so many of our first memories of liam are actually tied to the olympics, since it was the only thing of any interest on television for the first two weeks of his life. i remember nursing him at 2 a.m. shortly after arriving home, wide awake since i had no idea what i was doing, while listening to table tennis in the background. (that was back in the day when i was sure the glare from the tube would fry his brain, so i actually had it on with the doors of the entertainment center closed.) note: it's unbelievable how serious some people can get about ping-pong. also note: it's rather boring if you can't see it.

assuming we can figure out how to hook up our television in our new family room and that we can locate the necessary remote (two rather big assumptions, given the state of chaos our house will be in due to the move), we're hoping that we can sit down with the kids and catch some of this year's opening ceremonies. i really do love how the world comes together and celebrates the incredible achievements of such amazing individuals.

in case you're interested, table tennis competition begins at 10 p.m. on august 12. and this time, we'll be watching.