The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo have begun. Last Friday the 23rd was the much anticipated opening ceremony, especially exciting because of the delay of the games due to COVID. I love the Olympics – both summer and winter – but in the last few years, I have been unable to watch the Opening Ceremony. I last watched the ceremonies in July 2012 from a couch in a room at the Tucker Hospice House in Concord NC. It was during the opening ceremonies when I lost my dad to sarcoma.
That year, in London, Michael Phelps (a little ironic because my dad’s name is Mike) became the most decorated man in Olympic history. Earlier in 2021 he said, “Don’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the further you get.”
July (again ironically) is Sarcoma Awareness Month. The Paula Takacs Foundation over the past 9 years have been both a source of comfort to me as well as a source of hope and inspiration. Paula had a dream too and PTF is successful because she didn’t see limits either. Sue has carried the torch (pun intended) and pushed the dream even further, making PTF one of the most active sarcoma advocate groups in the US.
The Olympic games are always a symbol of what you can do if you put your mind to it and work hard. My dad was definitely a “work hard” kind of guy. So maybe I will turn on that TV this week after all and watch dreams become reality for many of the world’s greatest athletes. And I will smile – knowing my dad is watching too.
