As I watch the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, I can’t help but draw comparisons between those amazing, awe-inspiring events and the mundane, unremarkable routines of a busy mom or parent. I might be reaching here, as my analogies are loose and some are steeped in hyperbole, so take these with a grain of salt, a bit of humor and just go with me on this, ok?
As busy parents, we’d like to think we get through each crazy, hectic day with the grace and poise of a figure skater. In reality, it looks more like freestyle skiing or even skeleton as we whiz through our recurrent course at record speeds in order to “get it all done,” flying by the seats of our pants as we figure it out on the fly. On the good days, we stand on the winner’s podium with an invisible medal around our necks, exhausted but proud. On the bad days, we may cry a little in self-disappointment, but we dust ourselves off and pledge to work harder the next time.
Multi-tasking is a parent’s way of life. Doing two things at once under the pressure of a clock, as in the biathlon? Please — that’s child’s play! We parents make breakfast, pack lunches, sign school papers and check for clean teeth all in a matter of minutes. Unlike Olympians, we don’t specialize, we generalize. Stop at just one Olympic parenting event per day? I don’t think so. Each morning we get our hearts racing with short track speed skating, also known as the sprint to the school bus stop. Then it’s on to post-breakfast curling (i.e., sweeping the kitchen floor for the umpteenth time), some cross country skiing (read: errands all over town) and of course, nordic combined cleaning, laundry and cooking — all before the kids return home from school. But wait, there’s more … Homework help and monitoring, which should be like ice dancing, feels more like ice hockey with checking, trash talking and more than a few 2-minute penalties handed out. After a quick uniform change, it’s into the bobsled we go, full of neighborhood kids carpooling to sports practice, religion class or music lessons, depending on the day and/or child. When the after-school activities, post-practice showers and evening dinner are finally over, the rest of the night is downhill, alpine skiing until bedtime. And that’s just the preliminary round. Does any of this sound familiar?
Have younger than school-aged children? Your biathlon might be reading to a toddler while feeding an infant or changing a diaper. Your nordic combined competition may include booking an appointment on the telephone while cooking dinner and soothing a cranky baby … Who hasn’t had that experience before?
Parents of older kids, you get to layer in teenage drama, S.A.T. prep and college applications, to name a few.
And for those who work outside of the home, a typical biathlon might be juggling a business call while attending a child’s piano recital, or drafting a business memo during soccer practice.
You get the picture. No matter where you fall on the parenthood spectrum — work out of the home, from home or for the home — the daily course may look different with varied twists and turns, but ultimately we’re all on the same track, aiming for the same finish line and the same gold medals.
But what about all those other “events” that moms/parents engage in on a daily basis? What’s the Olympic equivalent to managing the family schedule? Or simultaneously being the maid, chef, chauffeur, tutor, referee, coach, nurse, knower of all things and finder of all things, all day every day for everyone? I know I could medal in those competitions.
I have the utmost respect for Olympic athletes and what they do. They are strong, conditioned and trained. They are dedicated, motivated and focused. They are passionate, persistent and unstoppable. They are very much like every parent I know. Like athletes, some days we win and some days we lose no matter how hard we try. Like athletes, we use our setbacks to push harder the next time, competing with ourselves to get it right and earn our place on the winner’s stand.
So to all the 2014 Winter Olympians, I applaud you.
And to all the parents out there, I applaud you as well. Please take your place on the podium … next to me.
– LJDT
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