My Excuse is the Olympics

I know I said I would be around more, but then- the Olympics! I have been seriously obsessed and it has therefore been all-consuming. I literally recorded the entire Olympics (on NBC only). In case you are not the superfan that I am, that means every day from 9am to 11:30pm for the past 17 days! It was intense! If you're trying to do the math on all that and realize that there are not enough hours in the day, I didn't watch every single thing in it's entirety. There are some sports that I would watch at double speed until the last 2 minutes or so (Sorry, water polo and indoor volleyball!) I still felt like I knew what was going on.

Over the last 17 days I watched: swimming, track and field, gymnastics (artistic and rhythmic), water polo, volleyball (indoor and beach), kayak, rugby sevens, equestrians, sailing, diving, synchronized swimming, canoe, triathlon, soccer, trampoline, rowing, marathon, cycling, and basketball. I'm sure that I missed some in that list. I also know that there were some sports that I didn't see because they didn't air on NBC, but hey! I can only do so much.

Throughout the past 2 weeks, I have also found a special place in my heart for so many of the athletes and their stories! Obviously I love Simone Biles and all the US gymnasts. And the whole country has grown to love Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel (swimming). But there are so many incredible athletes there and you should totally check out all their stories: Kerri Walsh Jennings (beach volleyball) is my HERO! She is so athletic it's unreal, but I also love seeing her snaps with her kids and her just being a mom. I also want to be friends with Maya Dirado (swimming). How can I make that happen?! Or hang out with Christian Taylor and Will Claye (track and field). I have some questions about the triple jump. What are the odd that Galen Rupp and Shalane Flanagan both got bronze?! And it was Rupp's second marathon ever! And I did tweet twice that Mo Farrah (track and field) was my favorite non-American Olympian!

David Boudia (diving) inspires me in athletics and in his faith! I am also super inspired by the perseverance of Meb Keflezighi (marathon). Not to mention that his daughters are beautiful! And speaking of children... if Ashton Eaton (decathlon) and Brianne Theisen-Eaton's (heptathlon) children are not in the Olympics one day, I don't know what happened...

I would love to have a beer with Nathan Adrian (swimming) or join him in Napa for some wine. And if Abby Johnston (diving) wants to come to Memphis for residency, I would be all for it! I cried at the sportsmanship of Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D'Agostino (track and field) and cried right along with Alex Naddour (men's gymnastics) and his victory!

It was an intense 2 weeks and I clearly feel emotionally connected to people that I have never met. I don't know what I'm going to do with all my free time now. So if you know about any good shows for a Netflix binge, just let me know!

But this post was not supposed to be all about the Olympics. I have been using the Olympics as an excuse. I have been pulling away from everyone and I don't really know why. This is not the first time (and I'm sure that it won't be the last) that I am antisocial. I often need time away to decompress and recharge, but usually there is a trigger. I typically recognize what's going on and that I need to get away. And then I take some time and space and am ready to face reality and friends again, but this time, I don't know what it is. There is no trigger and no obvious reason. I just feel like I've been drawing further and further away and I don't know why.

I'm still trying to work through all that, but I'm sorry to all my friends that I have bailed on over the past month or so. I've used the Olympics for the past 2 weeks, but I have no real excuse.

On a happier note though, I took a mental health day from work today! So far it has been both relaxing and productive- which was exactly what I needed! I'm doing a little bit of cleaning around the house and taking some more pictures so the house update is coming next post- promise! I also still need to write about the Big 3-0 and all the wisdom I've gained. Ha!

I'm Back... Maybe

I miss this. I miss writing. I miss the word vomit. I miss being able to get things out in writing so that it doesn't just sit bottled up inside. But life has been crazy and there hasn't been any time- for anything, much less blogging. But I want to get back into it. So I'm going to be better about it. I can't promise that it will be on any sort of a schedule. I'm sure that it will be much more sporadic, but I'll be around.

I still need to talk about the new house. And my 30th birthday! And so many other things! I will get around to them all eventually. I'm back, but it will be a little different. Bear with me!