I’m about to admit something I hate to say out loud. I wasn’t going to watch one minute of the olympics - why? Because of my intense feelings about the venue. Why is the world pumping tourist dollars into a nation that will not use one “red” cent of it for the good of the people? Everyone knows China has the worst human rights policies on earth, doesn’t give a rats ass about their people…so why give them this opportunity? Why put our atheletes through the torture of playing in a place where air quality is completely unhealthy? Why not just force them to smoke a few hundred packs of cigarettes on our turf? Why?

But yesterday while suffering through a brief writing block on edits for my latest novella, I was of course cruising the web. And what did I see? Gold, silver and bronze. Michael Phelps and the US men’s swim team - smiling and celebrating victory.

I saw inspiration. I saw pride. And somehow I got sucked along for the ride and I tuned in last night with my three kids. Within minutes Michael Phelps was in the pool, his mother cheering from the stands. The US men’s gymnastic team was busy pulling out all the stops to go for a medal no one back at home thought they could achieve - if that’s not inspiration, folks…what is?

My kids and I watched the American flag as it rose high above the crowd, our anthem played to tears of joy on the faces of our olympians, their families and mine. I can’t imagine standing there hearing the words of what our country represents blaring for all to hear - hands over heart, what a rush!

So, for now, I’ll put my feelings for the venue on hold and cheer for our team. They’ve paid their dues, done the drills and practiced. They deserve to be there, for themselves, for our nation and for the world. They deserve us to watch

Are you watching?