1984
Prompted from CHBM’s carnival
There were few times, as one kid of six, that I felt as special as the night my parents let me stay up to watch the Olympics. Specifically - gymnastics. In 1984 my dreams took flight. I wanted to be Mary Lou Retton. I wanted to win like
Mary Lou. My already not-so-perfect life took on a new meaning-gymnastics. In 1984, I had already been involved in gymnastics for several years and being the competitive perfectionist that I am, already had pushed to be the best. I had exceeded the normal parameters of what a girl my age was expected to do and fought and wanted so badly to be on the competitive team. I pushed myself and practiced every moment I could. My parents even got me a bar, mat, and beam to work on at home. My life was gymnastics.
Somehow it all broke down though. I would make myself so nervous before competitions, I would drive my mom crazy. I wanted more practice time and felt I wasn’t getting enough at the gym I was at. My parents tried to move me around to someplace else, but it didn’t work. I wasn’t willing to start over at another gym and prove myself. I complained. apparently a lot. So my parents pulled me out a few years later. Thus ending my childhood dream of being an Olympian. Not only did I give up on my dream, but I started a bad, horrible habit I still battle today. Throwing in the hat. I have a tendency to give up on things and not see them through. Now that I am aware that I do this, I have stopped and make myself finish things to the end (most of the time) but is isn’t easy or natural, that is for sure.
Even if I didn’t follow my childhood dream, this one little program, the 1984 Olympics, gave me the strength and distraction to navigate through some very disappointing and difficult times. It gave me a real life hero that still peaks my interest today. Mary Lou- Gold Medalist Olympian, Wife, Mother and all around good person. It amazes me how one night changed not only her life, but mine.
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5 Responses to “1984”
March 8th, 2007 at 7:45 am
That’s another thing I love: gymnastics.
It was always so inspiring to me. I had a little try at it for a time, but it wasn’t til high school, which I thought was a little to late to get started!
March 8th, 2007 at 11:10 am
I remember those Olympics well because they were in LA, even though we didn’t get any tickets. We should have, in retrospect. Oh, I take that back, I think my dad got cycling tickets.
March 8th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Well I personally would like to see you do a double back flip something or another now! Come on…I know you could pull it off! Ha! I have a horrible time finishing projects too…I have no clue how I have good grades in school…some how some way I’ve manage to pull my sh*t together at the end and get it done!
Have a great day ok.
Lyns
March 9th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I’ve never even been able to do a cartwheel. I’m so old that I wanted to be Nadia Comaneci.
June 26th, 2008 at 7:33 am
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