The Olympic Meltdown (and I'm not talking about the kids)

I've finally recovered from watching the Olympics. Sure athletes train for four years plus for their moment in the spotlight but it's even harder to be an armchair-athlete especially when you've got kids. I don't know about you but I was getting up early to watch live coverage of the games and staying up really late to watch the next morning's events. I was so tired after a couple days I was having meltdowns instead of the kids. And to make matters worse, the kids were cranky from missing their favourite Tree House shows. I was trying hard to make Phelps and Bolt household names but somehow they still wanted Max, Ruby, Timothy, and that turtle Franklin. They were more impressed with Franklin counting by twos and tying his shoes than Phelps winning 8 gold medals. C'mon kids, Franklin doesn't even wear shoes! And why is he scared of the dark? He lives in a shell. 

On the day of the men's 100m final, we had promised to take the kids to an amusement park called Centreville. Instead we sat glued to the TV just as the men were approaching the started blocks. Next was the "set" position and then bang they were off. And so was our TV set. Our little 15-month old decided to play her favourite game. TV set off, watch family scream in horror, TV set on, family gets comfortable, TV set off... You get my drift. I'm tempted to turn off the TV set next time Franklin is about to do something exciting. But then I'd actually have to watch the show. I'd probably spend most of my time looking for any signs of shoe-wearing. Instead I just watched what coverage I could around bath time, bedtime, and frequent episodes of potty, teething pain, and bad dreams. 

My worst moment was when I got myself up earlier than normal (around 6:30 a.m.) to watch Canada play the U.S. in women's soccer only to see 1-0 flash up on the screen in front of a backdrop of rain. By the time the girls had woken up, I was in a foul mood! I think I had stayed up late the night before to watch Phelps break another world record. And then it had the audacity to rain in Beijing the next morning. I thought the Chinese could stop the rain? How come they could only do this for the opening ceremonies? After the rain delay I got back into the game. The game had me hooked at 1-1 and then strung me along until over-time when the U.S. scored the winning goal. Now I don't take my sports lightly. I was jumping off the couch in excitement and anticipation for most of the match. My lack of sleep and Canada's loss had me cranky for most of the day. My poor kids, they're probably happy the Olympics are over. Truthfully so am I. We are back to our morning routine of Tree House and a nutritious breakfast followed by rounds at the playground instead of the boxing ring. 

While Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt maybe inspiring a whole crop of kids to exercise, they turned yours truly into a couch potato (and then some) for a couple of weeks. It's less than 2 years before the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games begin. I've got that amount of time to get myself into shape before my next couchfest. And to get a wall-mounted plasma TV. I've got to stop my children from turning the TV off at crucial moments. Like Canada - U.S tied in a gold medal hockey game. Yikes, I can already feel the stress.