OLY TRIALS IN REVIEW
We have been moving at the speed of light, so let me recap on some of our antics at the Olympic Trials. We were fortunate enough to visit some VIPs in the fine state of Oregon, although we did not get to see our peeps in San Francisco, Sacramento, or Seattle. Sorry about that. Many VIPs came to us, at the Olympic Trials in Eugene. That was such a treat!
Vanessa saw or met the following PRAYER WARRIORS at the Trials:
Ken and Denise (Ken was honored as the Head Women's Olympic Coach for the 1980 boycotted team)
Ralph and Doris (Doris is an Olympian and 5 time World Champion)
Grant and Amy
Big Alley Hedges
Neil and Steph
And "Cousin" Gabe Jennings
Okay, so Gabe is not a cousin, but we share a name. Vanners doesn't take kindly to us thrusting her into the arms of a complete stranger, even for a photo op'. I had to take her back from Gabe to get this shot. Sorry V.
Eugene traded in cloudy skies and cool temps for a heatwave just in time for the Trials. We stayed on campus in a dorm room which was heated, but not air-conditioned. It also had concrete floors and a door that didn't latch from the inside. The heat, concrete, and easily-opened door made babysitting Van in the dorm nearly impossible. She got really good at opening up the door and sprinting down the hall to either the elevator or the 4 story concrete staircase, and yes, she can press the elevator buttons.
When we weren't climbing the dorm room furniture to get out the open windows or sprinting the dorm hallways together, V-Dog and I were very much attached. I wore her on my belly most of the time (in 100 degree heat) and walked around. You see, Van is so curious, she'll maybe hold still while being held if you are walking, but she definitely will not hold still if you are, say, seated and trying to watch a track and field event. Being at the track meet was a lot like being at church for her. Not a lot of desire to sit still.
I don't know which was harder, babysitting an active toddler in an entirely unbaby-proofed campus or trying to be a spectator while babysitting said toddler in said locale. Let's just say, I have a hundred photos of Vanessa playing from the first four days at the Trials. I hear there was a major track meet going on... Luckily, she's cute:
Daddio was very busy working 12 hours a day in the beginning of the track meet, so Mama wore Vanessa around and sweat a lot. People did in fact stop me every few steps to offer me water, a place to sit down, or a medic. I must have looked a fright.
There was an athlete's lounge we could go to see the meet on the big screen. The lounge had computers, air conditioning, and free food. Too bad Nanners wasn't interested in being seated. I tell you, she's a whipper snapper! We brought toys to the Trials, but she was familiar with them already, so she investigated new things in Eugene. See her here, after exhausting the playful use of a box of recyclables found at the athlete's lounge.
Let's just say this Mama was very happy to see people who could help entertain our wee spitfire.
Thank God for Daddio, who took V. to the mens room shower every day to hose her off in the handicapped stall with a hand-held wand. Not sure how he did that, but I sure needed the break. He also is much more adept at feeding Vanessa and himself at the same time at dinner. That's quite a skill.
Other babies are a bit more mellow, we've observed. Take her buddy, Baby Jack, for example. He is the same age and, at church, while one of us is running around outside chasing Vanessa, Baby Jack is sitting through the homily in his stroller. I don't mean to compare, but when, exactly, does Vanessa sit in her stroller? Almost never. Regardez-vous nous infante, s'il vous plait:
When we did go to the track, Van and I were on the move. Everyone knew us. I'm sure we were quite the spectacle. In fact, after the first two days, people I'd never seen before would make comments and say, "Oh we know you... we've been watching you." On the crowded days, we could spend time in a big open area next to a giant TV screen. Vanessa would work the crowd, believing everyone is part of her family. I'd chase her around, only to catch her mooching food and sitting on random laps. No crowd fright here, folks. She was quite a hit. I'd dare say she was the most popular spectator at the meet.
Now, the track-friendly people of Eugene put on a kiddie race, whereby the kiddies and their well-meaning parents could go Big Time and race on the track. It was a cattle call. We were shuttled through a throng of kiddies and well-meaning parents, all of us raising one hand and shouting out the age of our child. Nanners and I didn't work the throng fast enough to be with the other "ONE YEAR OLDS!" so, for her first official track race, V-Dog was put with the "TWO YEAR OLDS!" Daddio couldn't be there, so I "filmed." Let's just say, after the initial shock and delight of looking up and seeing a crowd roaring and cheering at her, Nanners was at a loss of what to do. She came in dead last, me dragging her by her wee arm the whole way, saying, "Good job! Way to go!" as we reached the finish line.
Mid week Daddio had a break in his schedule, so we made a 24 hour side trip to Portland to see Derek and Jo, and then Katja and Todd and meet Baby Anja. Anja is 4 months old and as well mannered as she is beautiful. Katja said, at 10:30 at night, "Oh she's really cranky - she's so hungry and tired." How did Katja know this? We're not sure, because there were no blood curdling screams, no tears, no thrashing about. Anja is such an angel. In fact, Anja is rumored to sleep in her stroller. Imagine that.
The mini trip to Portland was an outstanding break for me. I got to sit for the road trip whilst my Irish jumping bean was strapped into her carseat, and, when we stopped to visit, Daddio was head babysitter. Thank God for Daddio (have I mentioned that?). After a night at Katja and Todd's he got up, made us a pancake breakfast, got Vanessa ready, and went shopping with us - baby wrangling in the store the whole time.
We had such a good time roadtripping and visiting, we hope to do it again next summer, sans Trials.
Back in Eugene, we got to spend a lot of time with "Auntie" Shea-Shea's parents and sister Jasmine, who also made the Olympic Trials in the high jump. What an athletic family!
The finals for the women's high jump were on Friday, July 4th. It was a big, big day. That morning I said to Daddio, "Well, tonight we'll either be really, really happy, or really, really disappointed."
See Sharon's family and coach surrounding her after she made the team? We are really, REALLY happy!
We prowled town a bit with the Olympian. It was the 4th of July.
When we arrived home from our trip, we were pooped out. Luckily, Vanessa's first passport was waiting in the mailbox for us, and we started right in on our travel planning for Beijing (you pronounce the "j" if you want to be correct).Our first week back I had another MRI of my abdomen, Daddio had surgery for a ganglion on his wrist, a dear friend of mine from work in Seattle lost her battle with cancer, and my Uncle Terry was diagnosed with a third kind of cancer. Luckily, my MRI looked great and Uncle Terry's tumor has been caught so early - kidney cancer, like my dad had - he is probably looking at a surgical cure. Thank you, Lord.
Maybe it seems foolish or at least inconvenient to have brought our toddler to the Olympic Trials this year, but hey, she loved the wild, new experience. Carpe diem! Beijing, here we come!
