USA!

Our home has Olympic fever. My parents have even made a deal with Bodie that he can watch 90 minutes of the Olympics every night if he'll take a nap during the afternoon. This would normally be near impossible, but Bodie is TOTALLY on board and crashes every day on cue, wakes for dinner, then heads downstairs for the big event. I am well into my REM sleep by this time, but I have heard some cheering in the night - though perhaps that's just me dreaming about the Olympics.

With the Olympics has come a barrage of questions in our house, "Where is that country located? Is men's hockey playing tonight? What is this event called? Is figure skating really a sport? How fast is he going? Is that a two man or four-man bobsled? Is he American?" and the list goes on and on and on. My parents smile at the initial curiosity but by about the 4,000th question, one of them usually says, "Shhh, let's just watch the event, okay?"

They even got him a talking globe so he could find the countries himself and start to answer his own questions. It may have backfired a bit because he now has more questions about even MORE countries, "Mom, tell me about Kazakhstan....", and thinks we should be flying to see them! (Which could have been part of my mom's plan....she sure is sneaky!)

Bodie's Olympic fever is just as strong in the daytime. Luckily we've had more snow days this winter than in any previous year my folks can recall, so we can recreate the winter Olympics in our neighborhood. Snowboard jumping has been popular - always involving the noises, "Swoosh, swish, shwaaaaaaaaaaa..." as he leaps around the yard. Ski jumping has been mimicked while using his "snow tire" bike (see previous post for explanation). After an impressive wipeout the other day, my dad - in an attempt to redirect Bodie's attention from his pain - told him he'd done a full flip before his head introduced itself to the pavement (yes, he was wearing a helmet). Bodie totally forgot the pain and has subsequently retold the "I did a full flip on my bike" story to several people.

Sledding is an easy duplicate for the bobsled and skeleton (depending on which direction you're facing). The bigger the crash, the better the sport. I even got into the action while I was strapped to my mom in a front pack - how did she think she would steer, with here eyeballs?!?!! Probably not our brightest idea but we survived.

With so much energy about winter sports, we headed to the local outdoor ice skating rink today so Bodie could try out speed skating - one of his favorite events. And while I admit I have been asleep and haven't actually seen any of these events, the name implies - at least to me - that a person would skate fast. This, however was not what I saw at the rink.

Initially on the rink, Bodie gripped a large, penguin statue like his life depended on it. (Note: I checked my kid's LeapFrog laptop and there are NO penguins in speed skating.) Then, with assistance, he pushed said penguin around the rink. The penguin, however, was no match for my brother and was forcefully shoved to the ground multiple times in an effort to keep my brother in a somewhat upright position. Oddly, Bodie thought he was the Apollo Ohno of Arlington and confidently discarded the penguin to another flailing child. This is when the entertainment value skyrocketed.

My parents, neither of who claim to be ice skaters, were then responsible for not only remaining upright themselves, but also keeping my brother from spinning out like a moose on a frozen pond. Each took a turn attempting to get the Bodester to skate solo. This did not happen but I remained fully entertained throughout the activity.

The winter Olympics will always have a very special place in my parents' hearts because, as they recently shared with my brother and me, the last winter Olympics took place right after Bodie's heart surgery. My parents had been told a possible complication to the surgery was that Bodie may never be able to be in high altitude and enjoy the mountains. Then they learned Shaun White had the exact same heart defect and surgical repair and watched him fly through the sky and earn a gold medal during those Olympics. Shaun's success gave my parents much needed hope.

Oh, and one more thing. Bodie announced this week when he grows up he'd like to "Be an Olympic snowboarder, an American, and a dad." USA! USA! USA!