I've got the morning off....first time for months it feels like. I was hoping for a lie-in, and disconnected the land-line phone to make sure early riser friends didn't call us to disturb mu slumbers. Inevitably, then, it was The Boy who rang on the mobile at 8.00am...to the minute I think. As we haven;t been able to speak with him all week, it was a great way to start the day...and a fortunate one, because it turns out that he didn't have the passport he needs to jet off to Iceland on the next school trip this afternoon.
We're into the last furlong and last night I got to see a goodly portion of the whole Olympic Ceremony. It's all very, very exciting indeed. Yesterday we rehearsed in our costumes for the first time. It suddenly seems to have come round very quickly...after months and months of thinking it would never happen, we are but a few days away from the big night.
It's been quite a journey...and I've already begun reflecting on the experience. There are nothing but positives. There is one thing that I'm very conscious of...being part of a team. I've always tended to be quite 'individualistic', so big organisations have never been my thing. So blending in, making friends, just being part of a crowd has been a brilliant experience...if it helps me in the future I will be grateful. There's only one person I've taken a strong disliking to...someone who is a show off, self-centred and selfish. And only one out of a thousand is not bad. There's a few good friends I've made and expect to remain closely in touch with afterwards. And there is one person who is something of a hero...he embodies everything that the Olympics should be about, and I'm very pleased to have met him. This is an extract from an e-mail he sent when we were trying to organise our own post event celebrations and I don't think he would mind me sharing:
"I'd love to join you at the pub afterwards, but I'm not clear about how long it will take us to get back to change (if that is what is really happening) and then walk to the pub.
I see it may take 30 minutes to walk there. With my limp, it might take me an hour - I'm in the early stages of motor neurone disease - I wasn't diagnosed when I got through the audition. But this has been a real life-affirming opportunity for me.
If anyone has any bright ideas or knows more of about what is happening on next Friday night, I'd love to hear from you."
