Monday, March 1, 2010

Time for a Nap

Sigh. It's over.

The last two weeks have been so emotionally charged that it was hard for me to put our experiences into words. There were several times that I wanted to post so badly, but I was so full of pride, adrenalin and exuberance that I couldn't really figure out a way to express it in writing!

This weekend was no exception. With the Canadian team winning gold over and over and over again it was all too much! Friday night I almost had a coronary watching Charles Hamelin win his gold medal in the men's 500 m on the short track. Then he and his teammates did it all over again an hour later in the relay. Their strategy was incredible, the race was a joy to watch and their winning faces....ahhh......see? Too much to put into words. I can't do it.

Then Saturday, the fellas did it for us again on the long track (GOLD), bobsled track (BRONZE), snowboard slalom (GOLD) and the curling rink (GOLD). Be still my heart.

I read that after Salt Lake City, there was a collective hangover, followed by a bit of a depression in the city. I wonder what will happen here? Everyone is riding so high at the moment, it's hard to imagine...it definitely feels like Vancouver is changed forever. Walking downtown on Saturday night, I high-fived more strangers in 30 minutes than I have in my whole life, and it was physically impossible to stop smiling. Yesterday after Sid scored the winning goal, there was honking and shouting on the streets of North Vancouver for two hours - everyone just wanted to party together. Carloads of young men drove up and down waving flags on hockey sticks, kids waved from the sidewalks. It really was remarkable, how everyone has come together to celebrate the achievement of our athletes.

I don't have a ton of photos, and certainly no incredible ones, but I thought I'd just finish off my Olympic posting with a few more pictures to give you a sense of it all.

cypress security line
Although it looks daunting, we never waited more than 20 minutes in a line (this one for Men's Aerials Qualifying on Cypress Mountain)

supervolunteer
The volunteers were AMAZING everywhere - this gentleman was the sweetest as he happily wished us a 'fantastic evening'.

alexandre large
As my friend Dianne said "the city has her party dress on" - so many buildings downtown wore these incredible wraps featuring our athletes.

canadacrane
Even constructions sites looked good!

4 host nations snowball
The exposure for Canada's First Nations culture was unprecedented.

short track flags
I love flags. Every venue displayed them in a unique way...this was at the short track & figure skating rink.

nationflags
This is in BC Place, site of nightly celebration ceremonies and the opening & closing.

sportsmanship
The sportsmanship on display at every turn was incredible to witness - especially, I think, for children.

sid warms up
...and here he is. Sidney Crosby, hockey wonderkind. It takes a whole team to win a hockey game, but Sid really nailed it, both with the shoot-out goal that kept Team Canada in the tournament at all, and the gold medal winner yesterday. I'm sure there was a party in his home province of Nova Scotia last night to balance out the one happening here on the opposite side of the country!

nightcauldron
It's out now, but on Saturday night with the harbour rings lit up to celebrate our gold medals, the cauldron was aglow with national pride.

It really has been phenomenal - better than I ever imagined, to be living in this place I love and sharing in this party that our country embraced with undeniable enthusiasm. That said, I am happy to return to family meals at the kitchen table (instead of convenience food in front of the TV) and reasonable bedtimes.

And now for some sewing.....

6 comments:

Dianne said...

Krista journalists could take notes! How beautifully you expressed the sense of pride, excitement and being just plain filled up that these games engendered in so many of us. And as always your photos are amazing! Hugs from a fellow Canadian floating gently back to "normal"!
Dianne

winterpeachblog said...

You are so lucky! I love the winter games and I love Vancouver. I will forever regret that we didn't go this time around. I hope the games come back to Vancouver soon. Arlene

paulette said...

Hi Krista! You said it VERY well...I had to go blow my nose when I was finished reading it!! My daughter, Maggie has been saying the same things...just incredible!!
Thanks for sharing and enjoyed all the lovely pictures!
Paulette

Wendy said...

Beautiful post!
I usually just read blog after blog, unemotionally. But i finished this one with tears in my eyes.
I guess i'm more sentimental than i thought.
Congratulations Canada!

=-)

Nina Lise@Mrs Moen said...

Congratulations, Canada, on a job well done!

For the rest of your post, I know exactely what you mean. My hometown arranged the winter Olympics in 1994 and it was incredible, such a rush. You get both the highs and the lows. Of course your city is much, much bigger than mine, so it might be easier to ajust back to normal afterwards.

Anonymous said...

Hi Krista,
I'm answering your nice comment on my blog about my comment on your blog! Clear as mud? LOL

Congrats to Canada on all their Gold, Silver and Bronze medals! We were glued to the TV during each night! Our favorites to watch were the downhill skiing and the snow boarding. It's funny, but I really don't care who wins, I just appreciate all their abilities. Such talent and what a great thrill they each have just being a part of something so big! :)