I miss the Olympics

The Olympics this year were wonderful if you are a Canadian, which I am. There was something real community building about it, more than any other Canadian event in recent memory. Sure, for me part of the love came from it being in Vancouver. Having grown up nearby there was an element of home, getting to see places that are so familiar to me. And my mom was there, one of the many spectacular volunteers that made this event go so well. I rediscovered that I love curling and became hooked on it. My kids discovered speed skating and turned our living room into an arena. And we all loved the hockey. Maybe there was something about this being an Olympics in the time of Facebook, where friends across the country (and the world) were all watching and commenting together. Watching the Canadian Olympians was like watching your friends and neighbours compete. You know people like these people. Canadian men like Jon Montgomery celebrating through the streets of Whistler and Canadian women like Joannie Rochette, brave in the face of great loss. We all heard and felt victory with Sid the Kid's goal that stopped the nation in its tracks (literally, Air Canada had to delay a flight as the passengers wouldn't leave the TV monitors in the airport). We are a nation of diversity, but we clearly can and did come together in a sense of national pride over those 2 weeks. I miss it.