Lately, I've been extremely busy. Not just at work, but in my personal life, too. Important things have been back-burnered or tended to in dribs and drabs. I recently completed a piece that I'd only been able to write at random moments — not the way I like to write.There have been some evenings after I've gotten one of the babies to sleep to find the other one not quite there yet, and I spend another 15-30 minutes trying to get her to sleep too.
And in the background, we've kept the Winter Olympics playing.
I've always enjoyed the winter games. There's something more accessible, more intimate than in the summer games. Indeed, now that there's no baseball in the summer games, I feel even more removed from them. I simply can't relate to men and women who can sprint faster than a stiff breeze. But I've skiied down a hill or two. I've sledded down hills. I've even fallen on my butt while trying to skate. The winter games seem more real to me.
After the tragic death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, I feared that something worse might happen and I thought I might avoid the entire games. But my wife tuned into the opening ceremonies, and we've had them running ever since.
I haven't regretted it. Too soon, the games will be over, and I'll be happy to welcome spring training and baseball. But for now, I am enjoying the games as they offer a small sense of greatness in an otherwise stressful winter.
I'm going for gold for the rest of 2010.
