A Spring of Joy

Last weekend we watched a lot of figure skating. Y’all, I am so excited about the Olympics. SO. EXCITED. I even have a google calendar with all the tv listings of events and when they’ll be aired. So needless to say, I am counting down the days until Sochi. It’s a bit hard for our children with bedtimes, so last week I recorded the women’s nationals, and we watched them together the next day. Watching figure skating in our house with our children is pretty much the best thing ever…

Every outfit. We had to comment on every outfit. Let’s just say, Bella’s into the bling.

“Mommy, I don’t like that their skirts fly up. Then you can see their bottom,” she said. So Bri explained to her that they are wearing a leotard like gymnasts do. That made it better. Except for when Ash pointed out that sometimes their outfits are just a bit immodest.

There were a lot of questions about the judges and who judged and how they judged, then finally Bella sighed and said, “It would be more fun if they voted on outfits.” (I guess I can’t be too surprised, since I was texting with my friend Caitlin about their outfits, too.)

“Oh my goodness, this music is so much better. The last girl was boring.” Score points for Bear and James Bond. Ave Maria, not so much a hit.

“You know, when you do better, you do worse sometimes.” After scrunching up my face in confusion, Ash clarified that Bear was talking about pride. Yep. Pretty much. It’s easy to do, isn’t it? When you’re good at something, you have to be careful of pride and pride can cause you to mess up.

At one point, sweet Bear just shook his head, “I would hate to be out there. Everyone looking at me. You know how I hate to be up in front of people.” I laughed and told him I understood what he meant (that boy cannot STAND any kind of recitation or program or public speaking). Then I asked him about when he plays football and if it bothered him when he had the ball and was running and everyone was watching him. “Hmmmm, not really. It’s a team sport. I’m good with that. Besides,” he said, “I can hear you yelling ‘Go, Bear!’ and it gives me more speed.” Day. made.

One of the times the camera closed in on a skater’s face, Bear said, “I like her face. She has a nice face.” He looked at me and smiled, “But not as nice as yours mom. When you have your lipstick on like them, you look awesome.” Remind me to wear more lipstick.

While we were watching, I told them how when I was little I would go to my basement and pretend to be a figure skater for days and days during and after the winter Olympics. I saw the sparkle in Bella’s eyes, and I knew how that drew her heart. When we finished watching and decided how we adored Gracie Gold, she popped up from her pink bean bag chair. “I’m going to go figure skate with Kaya (her American Girl doll) now.” I watched her go with a tear in my eye.

Oh my stars, I love these kiddos so much. They are gifts. Such wonderful, beautiful gifts. And these… these are the moments. The moments I don’t try to orchestrate or plan. The ordinary moment of just enjoying a simple figure skating competition turns into a peek into the heart of my loves, my gifts, my joys. These are the moments I cherish deeply.

And two minutes later, she was downstairs…

I cannot WAIT for Sochi.