My Favorite: Winter Sport

As I write this post, I'm watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. I love the winter games, much more than the ones in summer. The athletes bring so much excitement, talent, and enthusiasm to the audience.

I enjoy watching most of the events. My favorite is figure skating. When I was a kid, my mom would flood a low spot in our backyard (sometimes in the front) so my sister and I could ice skate. We lived on acreage so we had a big yard. It didn't take long for the ice to form since the low spot wasn't very deep. 

My sister was always better at it than I was. Like my heroine in the Alex O'Hara mysteries, I'm a klutz. When God was handing out coordination, He skipped me. 😀 Definitely a lack of balance. Still, I had fun skating around our makeshift rink. My sister would skate on one foot and do spins. While I spent a lot of time on my rear.

As I watch figure skating on television, I admire their poise as the athletes fly into the air and land so easily on one foot. The dancers bring an extra dimension to the ice. A fluidity. The pairs skating shows the tremendous strength of the men as they throw their partner in the air, and the trust the women have that he will catch her.

I'll watch the games over the next couple of weeks and remember the fun my sister and I had.

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.