making good on a childhood dream

it's no secret that i have been trying to get to the olympics since i was about 2 years old and watched dorothy hamill skate. and i don't mean as a spectator. my mom says that i would stand on the fireplace hearth to get as close to the t.v. as possible and watch intently. i begged, begged, begged to take ice skating lessons, but the nearest ice rink was a good 45 minutes away. then i thought that gymnastics would take me there, but when i realized that i was double their height, i knew that was a no go. i've never let go of the desire to win an olympic medal, and that is especially apparent during the olympics. 6 years ago, my plan was to start synchronized swimming. i figured that i could do that easy enough and that by the beijing games, i could feasibly be there. then i heard how much they train. so that's not gonna really work with my schedule. now, i'm no expert...but i really think i could successfully pick up curling. i did some research and there is this one curler that is competing in these olympic games that is 43. by the next winter olympics, i will only be 39. and...it doesn't look like you have to be in crazy good shape either. i did find out that she started curling when she was 8... which scares me a little. but how hard can it be? this could be a real possibility. i was beyond excited to watch the women's skating with my girls. i told aiden for weeks leading up to the olympics that i couldn't wait to watch it with her...just like i watched it when i was her age. technically, i think annslee could have gone either way, and aiden fell asleep half-way through the night (poor darlin...it was getting really late and she had to put up with a bunch of skiing events and news intermittently.) actually, annslee has been pretty obsessed with the downhill skiing. she will stare at the t.v. when that is on forever. now we call them "her friends, the skiers." but that's really beside the point. here is a picture of me and the girls watching the skaters. it does make me happy.

i am very thrilled to report that in a little over a week, i am starting adult ice skating lessons. this is all thanks to my friend, g. she had the very brilliant idea and checked into it. chad is being very supportive of this idea. he became really supportive when i agreed to taking lessons as a single skater instead of the ice dancing lessons that i originally talked about. his response to that suggestion made me laugh. he said, "yeah. i can't skate and i can't dance. do you really think this is the sport that i should try to pick up?" anyhow...i digress. the point is, that in a week, g and i will be lacing up our skates and i will be taking my very first ice skating lesson. wow...it's like 31 years since i first asked for lessons, but i think it's important to make good on a childhood dream.