Years and Years and Years

The Winter Olympics started today with team figure skating and mogul skiing. Some of the USA team members are seventeen and eighteen years old, and have been waiting to participate in their first olympics for years and years. My husband and I started watching the coverage this evening, and already started cheering for team USA and athletes from other countries. The spirit of the Olympics is joyous and freshening, a time when no matter the flag colors you can’t help but cheer for a strong performance.

All the sports made me think about the years of work and dedication, the ealry morning work outs and the missed family meals that all the athletes have experienced. The twists and turns that training and dedication require. They dedicate their lives to delivering their best during the games, so the pressure must be incredible. And for some of them they have less than thirty seconds to make it to the next round. THIRTY SECONDS…what?!? All the years of perspiration, sacrifice and training can boil down to only a few seconds.

I found myself cheering at the television as an ice skating pair hit their jump; I cheered so loudly I scared the cats. I was alone and could not help the joy I felt for this couple as they skated almost to perfection. I actually gave them a standing ovation all by myself. These are the thrilling moments that these athletes and their families have been working for year after year after year. I can’t even imagine the financial investments, the time, the sacrifice, the courage and the fear they have to overcome for only few seconds.

Have I ever worked that hard and long for something? Have I ever had all my work boil down to only a few seconds? I’m not sure, and maybe that is why we admire these amazing athletes and their skills. They represent the dreams we all have, the courage we want to live out each day, and the efforts that culminate in a single performance. It’s an amazing seventeen days, and I look forward to cheering on the years and years and years of work.