Did you catch the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics? They rocked!
And to think I hadn’t even been planning on tuning in. Despite all the run up for the summer games, I haven’t honestly been paying much attention. I’m not much of a sports fanatic, for one – plus I’m pretty pregnant right now, so I’ve got other things on my mind. Like where exactly I’m going to fit a second kid in my one thousand, one hundred square foot, two bedroom, one-bath house.
I’m in home improvement/nesting mode and have been riding my poor husband’s ass to clean junk out of the garage and rearrange the configuration of our home office so that it can double as a nursery. I’m seriously considering hiring one of those closet organizer consultants. But, my three and a half-year old daughter spotted a photo of the opening ceremony fireworks in the morning newspaper on Friday -- “Look Mom, FIREWORKS” – and she was so jazzed about the photo alone that I promised her we’d all hang out and watch the show that evening on TV.
She proceeded to talk about it all day…
Emi at ten a.m.: “Is it time for the Olympics yet?”
Me: “Not yet.”
Emi at noon: “Is it time for the Olympics yet?”
Me: “Not yet.”
Emi at three p.m.: “Now?
Me: “No.”
She pounced on my husband the minute he got home, “We’re going to watch the Olympics! And there’s going to be fireworks!”
Finally, bathed, fed, teeth brushed, in her PJs, she was literally jumping up and down with excitement as we tuned in to the actual event. She pretended to do gymnastics like the girls that appeared in the pre-show athlete montage – diving into a sofa cushion after executing one of her “moves.” She sailed around the living room as the thousands of Chinese dancers took to the floor, mimicking their elegant hand movements and gushing that they all looked like princesses. She asked questions about everything. When the fireworks did explode on the screen, Emi jumped in the air and yelled, “Those are the most TREMENDOUS fireworks I’ve ever seen!!!”
I don’t recall having this much fun watching the kick-off of the Olympics since the reign of Mary Lou Retton, when I was in the fifth grade. This reminds me of one of the reasons, despite all the work and the sacrifice that raising kids can entail, that my child brings me so much joy: I get to be a bit of a kid all over again through her eyes. Because of her, I get giddy on Christmas Eve again. I stop to coo over baby ducks in a pond (so cute!) and fireworks are an occasion for an all-day build up of anticipation. With dancing and twirling and jumping at the end.
Tremendous!
By Shannon Matus-Takaoka
Labels: Olympics, Shannon Matus-Takaoka
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# posted by Writing Mamas Salon @ 10:44 AM
