Obligatory Olympics Post

Winter Olympics kicks butt all over the summer ones. For many years now I have found myself much more fascinated with all the cold weather events than just about any of the summer ones (maybe it's from growing up in Texas - anything involving snow is just so foreign to me). But I've also realized that good announcers make all the difference. I totally got into watching a men's biathalon event - shooting combined with cross country skiing of almost 8 miles. The announcers were just so excited toward the end of the event that you couldn't help but be on the edge of your seat. For CROSS COUNTRY SKIING. And in true Olympic fashion, the winner pulled it out in the last few yards, even after a small stumble that made you think he'd sunk his chance for a sprint at the end.

It's also been fun trying to make Grace understand how the games work. She now knows about the gold, silver and bronze medals. We watch some of the events together and I point out to her how happy people are when they do well, or how tired they are when they've finished. She did see a female downhill slalom skier fall during a run, so we talked about how disappointed the skier must have been. Of course then she followed it up with one of her OTHER favorite topics of the moment by asking if the skier died after the fall. I think she was relieved when I said no and was able to point out that the person on TV was talking to her right then. She'd still prefer to watch her Max & Ruby dvd, but I guess getting just a little bit of Olympic excitement is good enough for an almost-4-year old.