Olympic Gold

I'm sitting on one end of the couch, with Patrick on the other end. Between us, Winston is enthusiastically chewing his giant rawhide. It's the final set of women's Olympic skaters on the computer screen. Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski are restrained in their commentary and letting us watch.

Watching the Olympics brings me back to years of watching the Olympics with my mom. Sitting on the lumpy couch, with the tv on the green corner desk. There were no green boxes to tell you about scores then, and a double axel was a big deal. Right after the Olympics, the big full-page ad in he paper would come out for the skating tour, and one year we even went. But it was incredibly magical, and I can remember what seems like every moment of those Olympics.

Tonight after circus we let Beatrix stay up almost an hour latter watch through the first Russian skater. I wanted her to feel that magic too. If she can't watch the skating with her grandmother, I want her to at least have that sense with me.

I find a lot to criticize about my country, and I'm not exactly a big sports person. But I love that sitting here on this couch brings me back to all those years.

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