The Olympics---the Rising Tide

Like many of you, I absolutely LOVE watching the Olympics.  They are so exciting.  I love cheering, of course, for the American athletes.  I even find myself cheering for other countries when there is a heart-warming human interest story behind their Olympic journey.  I've been an Olympics fan for as long as I can remember.  I remember so many fantastic performances over the years---Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, Greg Lougainis, Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps---and many others.  It thrills me to even remember these events.  

As we look back over all the years of Olympic performances, one thing that occurs to me is how much better these athletes perform.  Runners are running faster, vaulters are vaulting higher, divers are sharper, swimmers are swifter.  The World Records, Olympic Records and American Records seem to be dropping like flies.

And thus it is with children who are struggling.  Struggling readers are becoming proficient, uncoordinated runners are becoming accomplished athletes, children with social struggles are becoming gracious.  And this should cause you to cheer.   Just as  Roger Bannister breaking the 4-minute mile opens the door for EVERYONE to run the mile in under 4 minutes----when these children overcome being hypersensitive, being physically slow, poor speech, learning disabilities, social inappropriateness, hyperactivity, and many other challenges, THIS OPENS THE DOOR FOR EVERYONE to overcome these same challenges.  

The records in the Olympics are dropping like flies----and the records for our children are being broken even faster.  They are getting so well neurologically and so fast!  Just as it takes years of training to win an Olympic medal (or even to be able to compete in the Olympics), it is an investment of time and training for children who struggle.  But THEY ARE WINNING---and one look at their faces and the faces of their parents will tell you this---they would make the same investment of time and effort all over again in order to overcome this challenge.

If you would like to hear other mothers talk about their journey and their child's success, please listen here .

The Olympics excite me and help me remember that the victory is worth all the trials!