Mish Mash Musing

What a week!

The Olympics dominated our TV, as it did much of the country. Swimming and gymnastics. Wow. My friend and fellow writer Maris Soule compared the Olympics to writing on her blog. Practice makes perfect. How true. Everything we write is practice. 

I felt bad for the divers who had dive into that green water. It reminded me too much of the scummy pond behind our house. Yuck. On a more positive note, my 6-year-old grandson walked around declaring Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky were the best swimmers in the world. How true!

Speaking of the 6-year-old, he and his 9-year-old sister introduced me to sushi rolls last Friday. They thought it was funny I’d never had them. I thought it was amazing they had. (They knew better than to invite Hubs along. He doesn’t do “strange” foods.) I am so proud of my daughter for introducing them to a wide variety of foods. Following lunch, we attended a fantastic performance of “The Cat in the Hat” at the Hope (College) Summer Repertory Theater. Afterward, the kids stayed overnight while their mom and dad had date night. Summer is the time when you can stay up all night reading in bed. Until Grandpa says turn out the light.

Hubs and I saw the newest Star Trek movie, Star Trek Beyond. It was enjoyable but (IMO) not as good as the two previous movies. It seemed to start slow before getting into the action. As usual, at least for our theater, the music overpowered the dialogue at times. Can’t wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch with closed captioning. Going to the show is a painful reminder that my hearing isn’t what it used to be.

I read a couple of great books last week. The Daydreamer Detective Braves the Winter (Miso Cozy Mysteries Book 2) is a great follow up to Book 1. S.J. Pajonas gives the reader a glimpse into everyday life in rural Japan, along with a murder to solve. I enjoyed the first book in this series so much I had to read the second. I wasn’t disappointed. Now I’m reading Veronica Scott’s Wreck of the Nebula Dream—the Titanic in space. Talk about reading all night. Both books kept me reading way too long. At least, Hubs didn’t tell me to turn out the light.

Last week wasn’t all fun and games. I wrote two articles for "Novel Notes" (the newsletter four authors and I produce each month) then realized I only needed to write one. Hey, I get a month off. If you haven’t signed up for "Novel Notes" click here. Each month, we give away a $25 gift card to a lucky reader. How's that for an incentive?

For my post on Paranormal Romantics Saturday, I shared how I came up with the title and worked out some glitches in Mission to New Earth. I love it when I can multi-task. LOL

My freelance editor sent back the edits for Mission to New Earth. Usually, I groan. Not this time. A few continuity errors and a whole lot of missing or misplaced commas. I hate commas. I finished the edits in no time. Now for one more read through before formatting it for the other online venues in time for the August 31^st release. Right now, the novella is available for pre-order at Amazon.

Three more weeks of summer before school starts. Although retirement means our lives don’t revolve around the school year, Labor Day means the crowds of tourists will leave and restaurants won’t have long wait times. I’m looking forward to trying out some new places. If they have lines coming out the door, they must be good. Right? If not, there's always Captain Sundae.

Have a great week. Do something fun.

Olympic Wannabe

Are you watching the Olympics? I’ve been so impressed with the skiing, especially the new sport for this games slope-style snowboarding. Wow. Daredevils. But my favorite is the figure skating. The gracefulness combined with athleticism. They keep pushing the envelope with the jumps. I remember when triple jumps were rare. Now the men are doing quads as a matter of fact.

Figure skating has special meaning because it was part of my youth. Every winter, Mom would haul out a hose and flood a low spot in our backyard. Our nearest neighbor was a good couple of acres away so no problem there. My sister (two years younger) and I learned to skate on that pond. She was always so much better than I was. I remember watching Carol Heiss and Tenley Albright win gold. So my sister and I tried to do spins and skate backward. On our little pond we could pretend to be Olympians.

As a young adult, I tried downhill skiing. Not a good sport for someone afraid of heights. I did better with cross-country. I was always a klutz as an athlete. Things haven’t changed. Still a klutz. So I watch athletes who have been skating or skiing since they were babies. It’s no wonder 15 year olds can win gold.

Did you ever dream of being an Olympian? Even unrealistically.

The Olympic Games, Dreams and Inspirations

Did you OD on the Olympics? With practically round-the-clock coverage, I wouldn’t be surprised. Two very intense weeks came to an end last night with more than a bang. Fireworks, lights displays, special effects and—my favorite part—music. What a spectacle. The opening ceremony wasn’t too shabby, either.

In between the two spectacular events was the real reason for staying glued to our televisions—the games themselves. We watched each country’s best-of-the-best compete. We watched them fail, pick themselves up and try again. We watched dreams realized and dreams shattered. No matter what the outcome, all of those athletes can proudly say they achieved their dream. They are Olympians.

I enjoyed the background stories of the athletes as much or more than watching the competitions. Maybe it’s the writer’s curiosity or maybe I’m just nosy. Some athletes come from privileged backgrounds where money for training was no object. For others, though, their families had little yet managed. All families made sacrifices whether it was money or time to help make their children’s dreams a reality. For some athletes, there was no family support. Kids who ran the streets until someone who showed them there was more to life, someone who gave them hope that they could make a better life for themselves than crime and poverty.

The dedication of the athletes never ceases to amaze me. They give up having a “normal” life for their sport. To be competitive, to be the best, they train all the time. What sacrifices they have made. Some will continue to make those sacrifices to return in four years to compete again. For others, this was their only shot. Imagine being too old to compete at twenty-one. What I found both amazing and upsetting were the injuries those athletes incurred and continued competing—torn hamstrings and ACLs, broken bones. Amazed at the dedication and perseverance; upset as a mother that they could cripple themselves for life. Nothing mattered except the goal—to be the best.

I can’t imagine a greater inspiration for all of us, no matter what our dream. Dreams take dedication, determination, time, sacrifice. Dreams take setting goals and striving to meet them. People who learn that I’m a writer often say they wish they could write a book. Or, they have so many ideas maybe they’ll write a book someday—when they have time. Wishes and maybes don’t cut it. We never have time. We make time. We give up things—often things we enjoy—to make our dreams come true. There are always setbacks, always failures along the way. The athletes didn’t get to the Olympics without setbacks, without failures, without mistakes. They didn’t quit. They learned from the mistakes, from the failures. To become a world class gymnast, swimmer, runner, they focused on their goal and did everything they could to achieve it.

 

When the games are over, the ceremonies ended, the athletes who came to London can say I gave it my best shot. I did the best I could. Can we say the same about our own dreams?

Tomorrow, Aug. 14th, I’ll be over at You Gotta Read Reviews. Please stop by and say hi.

On Thursday, my guest is Michigan author Lucy Kubash. I hope you’ll come back here to meet her.