There's a lot more under the surface, and it's not just about the sports itself. It's about so much more and watching the emotion of the winners. Welcome to the Only Child Diaries podcast. I'm your host, Tracy Wallace. Have you ever felt like you didn't receive the how-to brochure on life, that you didn't get enough guidance about major life issues? So did I. You don't have to be an only child to feel this way. In my podcast, we'll explore some of the best ways to better navigate adulting, while doing so with humor and light. Welcome everyone to the Only Child Diaries podcast.

Today I'm going to talk about the Olympics. We've all seen the coverage, the commercials. I hope you've watched at least some of it. It's so fascinating to me to watch. There's a lot of it, though, isn't there? Well, I'll tell you this Tracy hasn't always been a big sports fan.

That's probably not a surprise to you. Not that I don't watch sports here and there. I can't say that I have necessarily a favorite team in any of the sports. I do watch some of my husband's teams, help him cheer on his particular favorites, but sports is not something that I gravitate towards to watch on a regular basis. Because I'm a graduate of USC. I've enjoyed the occasional football game, especially when USC wins. It's hard for me to watch all the games in completion. I just don't have that kind of patience. I'll watch here and there, I'll watch the highlights, I keep track of the scores. That's about it for me. So three weeks of sports it's a lot, as I'm sure it is for most people.

Now, last time we had the Summer Olympics, what I did was I went on to I believe it was Peacock and I tried to make it through all the programming for the equestrian jumping and that entailed the qualifying rounds and the preliminary rounds and whatnot, not even the final medal rounds. And I didn't even make it through half of that because they had everything posted on their channel and it got to be too much. Because they had everything posted on their channel and it got to be too much. I mean I just didn't have that amount of time to watch all of it. I don't think anybody would have that amount of time. Plus there's so many different sports right. So there's literally too much to take in. I mean, even if you didn't sleep for three weeks, I don't think you could take it all in. So you kind of have to pick and choose, which is sort of sad.

Now, back in 1984, I believe it was we did have the Olympics here in Los Angeles and at that time my family and I, my parents and I did get tickets to go see one of the dressage competitions. It was here, I believe it was out at Santa Anita racetrack, and they had, I remember they had bleachers. We were way up at the top, they had bleachers and a field. I didn't know a lot about dressage at the time, but those were the only tickets that we could get. We couldn't get tickets for the jumping. The jumping's always way too popular.

So we did go to an Olympic event and I remember that particular day our one dog had been ill and she had needed surgery, and so I remember now this was before cell phones, and I remember we were at the top of the bleachers and I decided that I would go and phone the vet and see how she was doing, and so I had to make my way down all the way down the bleachers and go and find a pay phone, which is hilarious call the vet and then I had to make my way back up the bleachers and update my parents on how the dog was doing. But anyway, and also I remember that way off in the distance this was before they had monitors where you could see up close what was going on Way out on the field you could see a little tiny figure and that was Prince Philip and he had come to, uh, be at the event. I don't know what he was, maybe he was giving the winners the medals and the presentation, but I remember that Prince Philip was there. So that was my one brush with royalty in my life. Anyway, I'm not a big sports fan. I do like certain sports, but there's just no way that you can take everything in. So every night my husband and I have been watching the coverage and they have varying things on it. They show the most popular sports, the swimming, the gymnastics, track and field gymnastics, track and field, volleyball, things like that, so you can't see the more obscure competitions. I'd love to see table tennis or badminton. I think it has been on, but kind of at more odd times. But one of the things well, there's several things about the Olympics that I really enjoy. One of them is the fact that all the countries come together to share in the one shared experience. Right, they come together, everybody, I mean. This is the way it looks like. On the coverage, everybody kind of puts aside their differences and shares and you can see that everybody is really more alike than they are different and everybody is sharing that world peace concept and that's great.

I really loved the opening ceremonies I think maybe it was a little obscure for some people. The fashions I think maybe it was a little obscure for some people. Having worked in retail and fashion for a while myself, I didn't work in obscure designer fashion, but I can really appreciate the fact that they tried to do something that was different, something that was a little avant-garde. That's France, that's Paris. I would expect that, and if people didn't like it, I would just say get over yourselves. That's Paris.

I liked the combination of the different music styles that they presented heavy metal, the piano, the opera. I loved seeing Celine Dion sing. That was the icing on the cake. We didn't see Lady Gaga because we weren't home at that time, but just the mix of everything. I was never a big Celine Dion fan. I thought she was a little too full of herself, but we did watch the documentary that came out recently about her and her struggles with her health. Both my husband and I have a totally new perspective on her and watching her sing that night we were both in tears because we know what it meant to her and we were amazed that she was able to sing like that and we have to give her credit for that.

And so I think that the Olympics in general is just a combination of people coming together who have overcome so many obstacles. At least here in the US, with the coverage that I've seen, they share little profiles of some of the athletes. Most of them have been American athletes but there have been profiles of athletes from different countries, what they have been through their obstacles, their barriers. Through their obstacles, their barriers, health-wise, otherwise, and when you take into account how hard people have worked for this goal of being at the Olympics and competing, what they've been through, how much they've sacrificed, time-wise, the dedication, when you look at being successful about anything in your life this gymnast, fred Richard, frederick Richard, watching him. They talked to him about working up to being at the Olympics and he said that he trains for six hours a day. Looking at his muscles and his body, and how hard would that be to train for six hours a day for years? The physical commitment, some of the health issues that people have had, like Suni Lee with her kidney problems last year and overcoming that, looking like really the picture of health now. Noah Lyles growing up with asthma.

I mean, people have had real complicated, life-changing things that they've had to overcome and I think that, just aside from the fact that they are incredible athletes and incredible competitors, they're also incredible people for what they've accomplished and what they've been able to do, and so it just takes my breath away to watch them compete and get to that one moment. It almost makes me want to stop breathing as I watch them get up and go through their moment or their minutes of competition, hoping that they don't fall or stumble or get distracted or get injured because they've worked so hard for this moment in time. And if they do, if something does happen to them, then it's another four years until they can try again and that would be really heartbreaking. So there's a lot more under the surface and it's not just about the sports itself. It's about so much more. And watching the emotion of the winners and the people well, even the losers, I mean everything that they go through and also watching the family support, I mean this is one part where it's very compelling for me.

We were watching the 100-meter track and field, the 100-meter event last night with Noah Lyles just barely winning over Jamaica, and he made his way. I mean, he jumps around like a kangaroo, he's so energetic. And then he made his way to his mother in the stands and his family and his girlfriend, but he made his way to his mother and he was hugging, his mother was hugging him, and then they cut to the audio so you can hear what they're saying and his mother holding her son's head and saying I'm so proud of you, I'm so proud of you. And that is repeated through so many of the family conversations when they go up to their family and people talking about their children and the parents being in the stands cheering them on. And I turned to my husband and I said imagine a mother telling her child that she's proud of him. Because I really struggle to remember a time when my mom said something like that to me and my dad said he was proud of me often, but my mom not so much.

So I don't feel sorry for myself in that way, but I always recognize when parents, especially mothers, do that, because I think that that's such a wonderful thing and it's such a supportive thing and I love to see that with other families. I love to see that because it means so much to people. They can pull themselves out of a tough spot, they can pull themselves out and they can build themselves up. But recognize that it means a lot when your family is behind you all the way and it's the sacrifice that an Olympic athlete has to go through. It's not just the athlete, it's the people around them and it's the family, it's the spouses or the significant others, it's the little children too that have been there. It's the sacrifice and it's the time commitment and it's their job. But it's more than just a job, it's a passion.

So, and it's amazing to me because watching the gymnastics, I remember when I was probably in eighth grade, seventh eighth grade, maybe ninth grade, junior high, and we had to take gymnastics, and gymnastics was absolutely terrifying to me because we had to pick one of the components of gymnastics. We had to do a routine to get a grade. We had to pick the balance beam, we had to do some sort of a floor routine which involved tumbling or somersaults and Tracy does not do stuff like that or we had to do the pommel horse of the uneven bars, or we had to do the pommel horse of the uneven bars. Tracy does not do any of these things well, but I guess the least controversial thing, for me, the least problematic, would be the balance beam. Now we're talking about a four inch wide. What? Five inch wide? I think it's four inches. It doesn't matter if it's six inches, it's still too narrow thing. What is it? Four feet off the ground? Five feet off the ground? It doesn't matter, it's ridiculous. Okay, we had the little beam to practice on. The short beam to practice on, that was a foot off the ground or six inches off the ground Absolutely terrifying.

If you've seen anybody clinging to a balance beam doing their quote unquote routine, that was Tracy. So I'm just amazed that they even gave me a passing grade and I remember that the teacher wanted us to all do our routines to the Chicago song Saturday in the Park, and so that song played on a loop in the gymnasium day after day for weeks and I think to this day I can't stand to hear that song. But irregardless. So watching these girls balance, first of all balance on the balance beam, jump and land on it and do somersaults and cartwheels and hop around. It's absolutely incredible to me. My husband, when he was younger, he said he did some of the uneven bars and the rings and he said he was able to do some of it, but obviously he wasn't at this kind of do some of it, but obviously he wasn't at this kind of competition level and he's amazed. So you watch these athletes and it's just amazing how physically adept they are. Watching Katie Ledecky swim the other night so far ahead of everyone else, and how does she do that. Simone Biles I don't even have to say anything about her because she is the GOAT.

So much talent is in the Olympics and across so many different countries. I love to see our US athletes win medals, but I also, I will admit I love to see the other countries win as well, because the US, I know, tends to dominate the medals and Great Britain and Japan and all. But I love to see when there's a country that's never won a medal in a certain category or a certain sport. I love to see that because I realized that not every country, not every category of athlete, has had maybe the access and maybe not every athletes in these other countries have had the same kind of benefits that our athletes have had and like watching the athletes from Ukraine compete. There was one athlete last night, one gal from Ukraine, who won a gold medal. One athlete last night one gal from Ukraine who won a gold medal. My heart is just filled with support for her, for all of them that came from Ukraine Also.

I just have to say that I love Paris. I love to see the coverage of Paris and the camera shots going into the different venues. I went to Paris when I was 18. I've only been once, but I'd love to go back. But Paris is a beautiful city. I think they've done a tremendous job of showcasing the sites. I remember when they first announced that the equestrian events were going to be at Versailles and I thought, oh gosh, it'd be so wonderful to go and see that because Versailles is beautiful. I mean, everything in Paris is beautiful. But in retrospect I think it would be lovely to be there. But I think you can see so much more by watching the coverage at home. You can see up close, you can hear the announcers talking about it, you can see the profiles and you can see the venues and you don't have to run around, you don't have to pay for the tickets. I hope that you and your family are watching some of the Olympics, enjoying it and appreciating all that it has to offer. Anyway, now I have to go and watch some more of the Olympics.

Next week we'll tackle another topic together. I hope you'll join me. If you like this episode, please follow the Only Child Diaries podcast on Apple Podcasts or other platforms you might listen on and consider rating Only Child Diaries and writing a review. It helps others to find us. Please share it with a friend you think might like it as well. Visit my Instagram page Only Child Diaries or Facebook Only Child Diaries Podcast. Thanks for listening. I'm Tracy Wallace and these are the Only Child Diaries.