The Olympics Is Changing My Household

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

21 Aug 2008 09:23 AM

Watching the Olympics has been an exciting thing, but boy has it had an impact on my home. Things are changing because of the Olympics, and it makes me wonder if they will change back.

The biggest change is with everyone's bedtime, or let's just say lack of bedtime. No one is immune, including myself, the solitary morning person of the bunch. Well, my youngest my be a morning person, but it is still a little too early to tell. Staying up just a few more minutes and then a few more minutes again to see the end of the gymnastics or swimming competition has left us all a bit bleary-eyed and vacant.

I may recall that Michael Phelps had a goggle disfunction or that Shawn Johnson wore a purple leotard in the floor exercises, but don't ask be what I myself wore yesterday. We squint at the television screen to make out hundred of a point, as our eyes tear up at the end of the night. It is enough to make me start drinking coffee again.

Another change that has been brought to my home by the Summer Olympic games is the sudden interest in everyone to break records and impress judges. There is a great new interest in flipping off the back of the couch or using the armrests a la the uneven bars. There is hurdling over the bottoms of chairs (where the supports are close to the ground near the legs) and many different somersaults and flips on the floor. At our first ever outing as a family to the shore, my eldest son was convinced he would be able to swim like Michael Phelps as soon as he hit the water. The first dip into the Atlantic convinced him to practice "sand swimming" instead. My youngest is working on the world volume record for a sleep-deprived toddler in the grocery store.

It isn't all bad. We have all been inspired by the athletes, whether they win or lose, and I admit that some of the teary-eyed business has as much to do with hearing our national anthem as it is with staring unblinking at a close finish in track. As Michael Phelps mom said in a recent NBC interview for the Today show (and I am paraphrasing), if you surround yourself with the people and the resources to support you, you can do anything. That attitude is one change that I hope will stick with us for a while.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog and caring for little ones in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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jonesx6 (1606) 22 Aug 2008 11:42 AM

I totally understand what you are saying. The other night we stayed up way past our bedtime to watch all of the events. It's been fun watching!! Laura

Mary Ann Romans (26886) 27 Aug 2008 03:46 AM

It really has!