:olympics:

when i was young, about 12, i was convinced that i wanted to be a track and field star. no joke. i was fast. i used to race the boys, and beat them, in elementary school. my compulsion was so strong at one point that i bought a weight bench, put it in my room and told myself that i would workout. of course, i rarely used it.
i really upped the ante when i actually attended track practice for my junior high school. unfortunately, much to my chagrin, i had absolutely no stamina and bad lungs. i basically quit before i even started.
i really could have been a good athlete if i tried. i had the body. jared and i always joke that i would have been a kick ass soccer player. yeah…i did that when i was 4, and i guess i quit.

whatever my reasons were for never pursuing sports, i have always admired athletes. i have been an avid baseball fan my entire life. i had a major obsession with surfing for years. i even fell prey to the oh so chic haircut of mary lou retton in 1984. at just 4 years old, i dawned the less than flattering coif; which is a perfect segue to the olympics…

i have always been oddly intrigued by the summer olympics. the winter ones are cool, but there’s this superhuman quality to the summer games that just doesn’t surface as much in the winter games. i suppose it all makes sense considering the roots in greek culture.

i was able to catch a couple hours of the marathon opening ceremonies in china. honestly, it was awesome. everyone i hear talk about it seems to have felt the same way. it was such a feat of precision, a delicate choreography of dance, music, athleticism and art. it reminded me of humanity’s beauty and our reflection of God. we are just an iota of the creativity that He is. can you imagine? anyway, it was touching to see a night where all of us were (are) one. i suppose it gives me some hope in our plight. we can never let go of our ideals.