This morning, as I sipped my usual cup of joe and prepared for the day with my Today Show fix, I became overcome with emotion while watching the segment featuring our Olympic athletes gearing up to compete in Beijing. As a little girl, I used to think my dad was strange when he teared up as our national anthem was played after one of our own won a hard-fought medal during the Olympic games. Now, I think I finally understand.
The Olympics are big in my family. Before my brother and I left for
college, we used to spend many an evening with the tv trays, glued to our television set as we watched the winter and summer games. Since most of my family were athletes at one time or another, there is a certain vicarious feeling we have in watching an American superstar swim ahead to reach the wall first, or stick the landing off of the balance beam.
For those of us who have no family members fighting for our country or who have little real experience with war, there is no greater feeling of pride and patriotism than watching one of our own standing on the award podium, hand over heart as they raise our flag and play our anthem. It brings chills to me now just thinking about it.
For the first time since I can remember, I spent the Independence Day holiday apart from my family. With two grandfathers having served during World War II, it is usually a special day for us as we honor them and celebrate the freedom we have thanks to their sacrifice. They always say that my generation has no real sense of patriotism and this thought makes me sad.
For me, the biggest sense of unity I ever felt occurred in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. My small town mourned for those lost in the attacks and celebrated their memory and our resilience with a barrage of car flags. Driving down the major thoroughfares of our community, you could not find a car without one or two of these little American flags attached to the windows. I remember feeling my heart swell and my throat thicken when I felt the emotion and camaraderie we had, even as strangers.
It is moments like those where we forget the things that make us individuals but remember the same flag that pulls us all together. This morning, as I listened to a montage of patriotic tunes that served as the backdrop for the images capturing monumental Olympic moments in history, I felt a glimmer of the patriotism that I wish I had all the time.
Sadly, I think my grandparents may be right. I think we could all spend a little more time reflecting on what it means to be an American and fly a few more flags on our front porches. As the Olympic games commence on Friday, I hope you all will watch and share in the support for our athletes and our country.
The Olympics are big in my family. Before my brother and I left for
college, we used to spend many an evening with the tv trays, glued to our television set as we watched the winter and summer games. Since most of my family were athletes at one time or another, there is a certain vicarious feeling we have in watching an American superstar swim ahead to reach the wall first, or stick the landing off of the balance beam.For those of us who have no family members fighting for our country or who have little real experience with war, there is no greater feeling of pride and patriotism than watching one of our own standing on the award podium, hand over heart as they raise our flag and play our anthem. It brings chills to me now just thinking about it.
For the first time since I can remember, I spent the Independence Day holiday apart from my family. With two grandfathers having served during World War II, it is usually a special day for us as we honor them and celebrate the freedom we have thanks to their sacrifice. They always say that my generation has no real sense of patriotism and this thought makes me sad.
For me, the biggest sense of unity I ever felt occurred in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. My small town mourned for those lost in the attacks and celebrated their memory and our resilience with a barrage of car flags. Driving down the major thoroughfares of our community, you could not find a car without one or two of these little American flags attached to the windows. I remember feeling my heart swell and my throat thicken when I felt the emotion and camaraderie we had, even as strangers.
It is moments like those where we forget the things that make us individuals but remember the same flag that pulls us all together. This morning, as I listened to a montage of patriotic tunes that served as the backdrop for the images capturing monumental Olympic moments in history, I felt a glimmer of the patriotism that I wish I had all the time.
Sadly, I think my grandparents may be right. I think we could all spend a little more time reflecting on what it means to be an American and fly a few more flags on our front porches. As the Olympic games commence on Friday, I hope you all will watch and share in the support for our athletes and our country.
Posts
1 comment:
You are a wonderful young lady with such proud and heartfelt thoughts.
Your words remind me how much we take for granted all the wonderful things and people in our lives until something major happens...especially when we lose or there is a threat of losing what/who we love.
I try to make an effort to nurture the relationships in my life, because when all else fails the greatest blessing we can have in our lives are the people we care about/love and who care/love us.
Post a Comment