Future Olympian? 8-10-12

I'll admit it. I did get a bit misty-eyed when I saw that P&G commercial the 1st time, with the harried moms taking their kids to practice at the crack of dawn, and the kids turned out to be future Olympians. I've never really known an Olympian. My mom asked, 'Why would you want to be in the Olympics if you knew you had no chance to get a medal?' That's really an understandable sentiment in the US. GBR, China, Russia for example, help to support Olympic hopefuls financially. The US does not. I read an article about an US Olympic hopeful who was a female weightlifter. She was really living hand-to-mouth, and the article notes how grateful she was when an unknown person brought her a $100 worth of groceries and toiletries and left it for her at the gym. Very sad. She finished 8th in the world. That's an accomplishment, but she won't be getting any big endorsement deals.

I don't know how I would react if Boop came up to me and said, 'Mommy, I want to compete in the <insert sport here> in the Olympics.' I guess it would depend on the event. I hope not gymnastics, judo, or some other injury-provoking sport. Maybe archery or skeet shooting; then she could really put the "eye" to the test. In spite of our other failings <and perhaps this can be seen as a failing to those who have to deal with us having to have everything just right>, we have an obsession with having to have things straight and level--and we can usually tell if something is level without having a level tool. This might bode well for little Boop in making the mark. Plus, it's not too taxing on the old joints--except the hands.

The hard part is knowing when to push them a little bit. At some point, she might be really good at something and then get bored or discouraged. How much do you push? It can be hard to change tracks mid-way. How do you explain to a 6 or 7 year old how much commitment and practice it takes? Well, I guess I have a few years to wait for such a discussion. She's not crawling, yet.