Continuing our Summer Olympic Story…part 2

Apologies folks..as you can no doubt see i have been fiddling with my blog design…..and that has sucked up huge amount of time…but im digressing and although i am SO totally stoked by my new look..im going to keep on track for the sake of this challenge.

So…

Entering the Olympic park reminded me a little of going through an airport, you had to show your tickets a lot, you were hearded through lots of roped gangways like cattle and then you had to walk through security scanners and put everything you were carrying in plastic box and send it through the scanner camera. That is where the similarity ended though. My experience of airports is usually always fairly stressy..travelling with kids is not easy at the best of times and adding security to that usually serves for some warp factor stress levels. Passing through London 2012 security was the totally opposite. We were met at the start of the cattle pens by the smiley, chatty, games makers, high fiving the kids and pulling the Bolt pose with their comedy ‘foam’ hands.

“hey what are you going to see?” “make sure you shout really loud!”

Passing through the security scanners being manned by some members of the RAF, I reprimanded my son for trying to shove the plastic boxes full of our stuff along the rails to the camera scanner. I only did this because he tried doing this in Manchester airport once and got scowled at and ‘take your hands off it” look from the operator……

“Don’t worry, its fine!” young Mr. RAF man smiled, winking at my son ‘we could give you a job here i reckon!’

Even when they had to confiscate a can of pop from our packed lunch the poor guy looked mortified and tried to convince us to wait and drink it rather than throw it away. I had forgotten it was in there. I had remembered  that you could only take empty water bottles through security to fill up on the other side. We, along with many others had added to the trail of hastily dumped water running from the bottom of the large planters that lined the path to the entrance gates. Im thinking those plants are either dead by now or triffid-like.

The games-makers, the military and the police were such a huge part of making the day a great experience. I know everyone has said it…the athletes, the politicians, the celebrities but it really would have been so much less without those little moments, winks, cheeky shout outs on the loud-speakers that, if nothing else, put a smile on your face.

Walking into the park was such a thrill…it was like walking into battle..we had come to support, shout, believe. Bringing our young family to be inspired.

It felt a little bit like finding a book and only reading the last chapter. In most cases we know nothing of what these athletes have gone through to get to that start line, the highs and lows that have got them to this point in their lives.. but we become players in the final, triumphant, closing  paragraphs of their story.  Willing them on,dreaming for the best of best ending to theirs and now our story too.

We were ready to bring it.

This is part of my somewhat lame attempt to link up with my friend older single mum..you can find out about her challenge by clicking the lovely little link box below….