I've been glued to the Olympics like so many other Americans over the past few weeks... Or at least some parts of it when my eyelids weren't closed from being sleep-deprived. I've watched athletes sprint, swim, dive, tumble, kick a ball, jump, box, and pole vault. These feats are definitely not things that I could do on an Olympic level, but there are some things that we do as parents that I think are medal worthy.
Juggle ten tasks at one time
Juggling many tasks at work can be challenging, but manageable. Meeting deadlines, organizing luncheons, satisfying customers: all in a days work! Juggling tasks requires teamwork from like-minded, rational thinkers. Enter children between ages 0-9. In fourth place, just missing the medal stand is being able to juggle numerous tasks. I'm usually very proud of myself that I can manage to get out of bed after a sleepless night, shower, pack lunch, cook breakfast, feed my toddler, and breastfeed my baby all before 7 a.m. If everyone is happy after that I call that a parenting win! Being able to juggle ten tasks at a time should definitely go on my resume. I'm sure it isn't going to get any easier once the kids get involved in activities. I see spreadsheets and family calendars in my future!
Live on no sleep
Now lack of sleep shouldn't be a competition because while some things are funny, like putting the remote in the fridge, other things, like getting behind the wheel of a car, are not. Still, someone should give parents a medal for all the sleepless nights they get with their kids. I thought that it would get better after my baby wasn't a baby anymore, but that was false. Toddlers also keep you up, just as I'm sure school-aged kids will, and eventually teenagers. Do we ever get back to sleeping? I must ask my friends with older kids because I'm convinced that we don't. The bronze medal goes to living on no sleep because we all do it and deserve some recognition for it.
Get out of the house on time
This one is a feat! Seriously, throw me a ticker tape parade if this happens. In the rare moment that I actually get out of the house on time with my husband and two kids I think someone should greet me at my destination with a crown, scepter, and sash because I'm about to make my Miss America speech. "Thank you to everyone involved that made this moment happen ." (Wipe tears from eyes). "Everyone was dressed this morning and we even found everyone's shoes. Most importantly, we didn't have to run back in the house because we forgot a toy, favorite blanket, or other miscellaneous item." The silver medal easily goes to getting out of the house on time and it is well-deserved.
Survive a road trip (or other big travel feat)
This is truly gold medal worthy. Like Katie Ledecky smashing her previous world record and beating her opponents by 12 seconds kind of worthy. The other things on the list really aren't in competition with traveling with kids.
Traveling with children is like synchronized diving: when everyone is on the same page it's beautiful. When one person is not focused or out of sync, it can look ugly! I used to tell people that we were not afraid to travel with kids... that was before we actually had them.
I managed to wrangle both of my kids by myself on a flight to New Jersey back in June, complete with car seats, strollers, diapers, and even mattresses! You can view that post here. While I would do it again, it certainly takes drive and courage to put kids in a car (at any age) for long trips or to have them fly. The rules of security can be incredibly daunting and you can only hope that TSA will be lenient when you travel with kids. You pray that they don't fight the entire way, that maybe they sleep part of the trip, that you don't lose anyone, and that they all decide to take a potty break at the same time. Good luck with all that!
Once you get to your location there is more fun to be had. You now have to wish, bribe, and beg your kids to sleep in a new place for a few days. This is probably easier with older kids, but with a toddler and an infant it's more challenging. I recently took my kids overnight to a friend's house in town and tried to get Gardner to sleep in the lower bunk bed that they had. Needless to say he had so much anxiety about the whole ordeal that neither he or I slept that night.
Have you ever been on an airplane with an inconsiderate 8 year-old kicking your seat? A fidgety toddler in the seat beside you? A crying baby 30 seats in front of you? You're probably aware of the struggles of traveling with children. So if you see a child as you're exiting the plane and you experienced none of these things, be a true American and salute their parents. It's the least you can do to honor such skillful parenting.
Conclusion
I definitely do not consider myself an Olympic athlete, nor do I think that parents have it tougher than what Olympic athletes go through to train for this momentous occasion. Still, parents put in countless hours trying raise their kids to be productive adults. I don't know of anything else that requires that much effort and time commitment than having kids. We do it not knowing if we're doing it right, but hoping for the best. For that, I think we all deserve a medal!