Gold Medalists

There's a mom out there whom I only met and spoke with for twenty minutes, in a random encounter, on the beachfront of Cinque Terre's jewel, Vernazza.  Little does she know what an impact she made on me that day and long since.  I watch her life through social media feeds and find myself smiling each time I come across her posts.  She has a way of making every event... mundane, ordinary, unfamiliar or otherwise... extra fun.  She's a homeschooling mom of six who develops her own global curriculum.  At the end of each school year, the entire family of eight takes a trip to the part of the world they studied.  I was inspired by her, the importance they clearly make on cultural exposure, and her commitment to making moments count. She carries this through to daily life.  Watch the Superbowl on TV? No way.  Let's pull the TV outside in the snow and watch it from the hot tub.  Olympics hosted in Russia?  Let's plan traditional Russian meals for the duration of the Games. She's always using whatever is going on and turning it up a notch in the fun, meaningful, relevant, and memorable departments.  She's a gold medalist in this sport.

The other night, I channeled her.  Dad and Grier were here visiting and had gone to see the USS Yorktown with all three of my boys.  E and I stayed back so she could nap, and because I envisioned her falling into the harbor.  She's too busy to take to an aircraft carrier.  Much like the decision we made in China not to take her on the river cruise.  Not much has changed.  While Everlee slept, I made a short list of fun Olympic themed things to do with my kids.  I was as excited as they were.  Maybe more.

Cross country ski competition.

Decorating cupcakes with M&Ms to look like the Olympic rings.

Crafting a Downhill picture.  Penn was the only one into it. His version is on top, mine on the bottom.  If you look closely, you can see his person's eyes and smile, and the sideways triangular hat.  Complete with pom pom!