Excited about everything

at Two Writing Teachers!

A few days before the Olympic Opening Ceremony, I was skipping around the house, humming the Olympic songs and chirping about which sports I was most excited to watch. (Bobsled, ski jumping, all kinds of ski racing, cross-country skiing... ok, almost everything!)

For some reason, Husband was grinning sideways at me with twinkling eyes... which always means that he's amused at what he thinks is weird behavior.

"What, didn't your family get excited about watching the Olympics?" My incredulity was only half-fake.

"I don't know... I mean... we watched them... but..."

"My family always got so excited for the Olympics!!! They're so much fun to watch!" I was about to launch into an explanation of how some events, like bobsled, are even more fun to watch when you've seen them in person (which we were lucky enough to do for 3 events each at the '96 Atlanta and '02 Salt Lake City Olympics!)... but he interrupted me.

"Your family gets excited about EVERYTHING!"

(As some of you know from reading about how much fun we have watching OSU sports... and eating... and doing everything else... he's right!)

So this past weekend, just after my dad had emergency surgery for a detached retina, we found ourselves peeking over the edge of my parents' bed, horizontally watching the Olympics on a small TV on the floor... still having fun.

To help his eye recover, Daddy is required to look down for 45 minutes of every hour!

Now, I'd imagine that most usually-active people who can't see out of one eye and have to sit around the house staring downward almost constantly would be pretty despondent, but my dad isn't most people. Miserable? That doesn't sound like very much fun!

Inspired by his eyepatch, he greeted us with a hearty pirate "Arrrgh!" He gleefully gloated about getting all his favorite meals, MMMing loudly as he made a big deal about savoring each bite. He conspired with Husband to play little tricks on my mom and me. He hammed up his condition to annoy my mom: pretending to bump into things on purpose, trying to sit on me with the excuse that he couldn't see, and whining that he couldn't open his pop bottle.

As we peered down at the TV, we practiced our best skeleton-racing positions. We giggled about how the Sanki Sliding Center's name sounds exactly like my maiden name, enthusiastically echoing the announcers each time they said it. Through it all, he was spouting puns and fake Spanish (such as "rice-o España" for "Spanish rice") and laughing through his nose at his own jokes like always.

Even when he isn't feeling his best, my dad is always excited about everything... especially spending time with me. <3