New Mom: OlympicMomia

There is a new type of sleep deprivation in our house, but New Girl is no longer the culprit. She had been sleeping fantastically, at least 11 uninterrupted hours a night for months until two weeks ago when she was waking either uncharacteristically early or in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason except to be with Mommy. After a week though, we’ve gotten her back into her normal routine. But then the Olympics started, and apparently I’m inextricably addicted to the Olympics. I’ll watch gymnastics, judo, badminton, fencing, weightlifting, even the very long and boring women’s marathon (which was not even close for the entire second half), as long as it has an Olympic gold medal at stake.

I could go four straight years without so much as thinking about competitive swimming, but now I can’t go to bed until I’ve seen Dara Torres take to the pool and witnessed Michael Phelps win another race and break another world record. I take comfort in the fact that there is a 56-year-old American woman competing in the Olympics (she’s a shooter). It makes me feel that maybe my Olympic dream simply has yet to mature.

And then New Dad and I contemplate what sport it will be that will take New Girl to her first Olympics in 2024. Will it be doll stroller pushing (where the artistry of moving in a straight line and maneuvering obstacles such as a crack in the sidewalk count for more than speed). Or perhaps stuffed animal carrying, in which there will be separate events for mastering the quantity of animals carried and for the weight and size of the animals in relative proportion to the athlete. I take copious notes during Debbie Phelps’ (mother of Michael) interview with Bob Costas. No doubt that will be me sitting proudly next to my gold medalist daughter one day, and I want to be prepared. In the meantime, New Girl’s playground training is going very well, even if my compromised sleep means I can barely keep my eyes open to watch. By the way, if you’ve ever wondered if your child is too proud a winner or too sore a loser, you might enjoy this very interesting article about the body language of Olympic winners and losers.