I took my boys to the neighborhood pool today. My 11 year old son was thrilled to find several of his school friends already there. As I splashed around with my younger son in a different area of the pool, something unusual caught my eye. The 11 year old boys had been playing Marco Polo, the classic pool game. But one-by-one, they each grabbed a younger boy in the pool, let him ride piggy-back, and teamed up for a different sort of Marco Polo.
The older boys closed their eyes and let the little boys direct them around the pool.
The team work and kindness at play in that pool today caught me off guard.
Later, the same group of boys gathered in the deep end for some relays races. Each one of them cheered for his friends, no matter which “team” they were swimming for. There was obviously a winner in each race, but all I heard were cheers all around.
After the races, the kids took turns diving. A mom sat pool-side holding up score cards. And suddenly I could imagine those kids as future Olympics athletes, cheering each other for their successes.
Here’s a quick message from Michael Phelps, mentioning how much his fans’ cheers mean to him:
The collective cheers and goodwill that I have noticed during these Olympic Games have been uplifting. And the games are not over yet. Will you join with me in sending a few more CHEERS to the Team Visa athletes (who, by the way, just made it to 21 medals over-all…7 Gold, 7 Silver, and 7 Bronze). Incredible!
Win $40 in Visa gift cards!
One lucky reader will receive two $20 VISA gift cards (equaling $40 total).
- To enter, leave a comment letting me what has been your favorite moment in the 2012 Olympic Games so far.
- For extra entries, I would love to have Better in Bulk readers create the most number of cheers for our athletes! Just click the yellow cheer button above and let me know in a comment what athlete, team or country you submitted a cheer for.
- For ANOTHER extra entry, share this post on twitter. Here’s a sample tweet to copy and paste:
What has been your favorite 2012 Olympic moment? Answer & enter to win $40 VISA card #giveaway from @1momof5 http://bit.ly/N2hQtv #VisaGoWorld
You can tweet and CHEER every day for entries.
This giveaway is open to everyone and will end on Sunday, August 12, 2012 at midnight. Winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Stay tuned for MORE Visa gift card giveaways coming soon!
Disclosure: I am blogging on behalf of the Visa Go World Olympic Campaign and receive compensation for my time, but the thoughts, words, and promotions on this page are mine, not Visa’s. The gift card promotions are not sponsored by Visa in any way.
© 2012, Lolli. All rights reserved.
https://twitter.com/LuckyDuckyToo/status/234848740945567744
[Reply]
i loved watching Aly Raisman on the bars
Thanks for a super giveaway!
[Reply]
Tweeted:
https://twitter.com/anashct3/status/234477775409516545
Thanks for the chance to win!
email: anashct1 [at] yahoo [dot] com
[Reply]
Gabby Douglas winning gold
[Reply]
I created a cheer for Lopez Lomong of Sudan
[Reply]
I tweeted http://twitter.com/DeeGee13/status/234397734851989504
[Reply]
My favorite moment was when Phelps beat the Olympic record for winning most medals!
[Reply]
Tweet
https://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/234215980056850434
[Reply]
I created a cheer for the United States
[Reply]
Gabby Douglas winning the gold; she’s a credit to the USA and a great sport too.
[Reply]
https://twitter.com/LuckyDuckyToo/status/234128077851070464
[Reply]
I’ve loved it all! I wish I had seen Gabby win – we were camping last weekend (i.e. no tv / no internet).
[Reply]
i cheered for the USA on the app!
[Reply]
https://twitter.com/DesMoinesDealin/status/234018390145126400
[Reply]
gabby winning!
[Reply]
My favorite moments have been watching Missy qualify for the Olympic USA Swimming Team!
[Reply]
gabby douglas winning gold!
family74014 at gmail dot com
[Reply]
https://twitter.com/LuckyDuckyToo/status/233764926127239168
[Reply]
cheered for swimming
[Reply]
has to be missy franklin winning..she is so young but mature and awesome!
nannypanpan@gmail.com
[Reply]
I tweeted the give away. https://twitter.com/PinkieB22/status/233570782901583872
[Reply]
oh, why not? I cheered for the triathlon team, too. Go Laura!
julie´s last [type] ..Back to school shopping checklist
[Reply]
I cheered for the USA and my sorority sister, Laura Reback Bennett who is on the triathlon team.
julie´s last [type] ..Back to school shopping checklist
[Reply]
tweeted: https://twitter.com/JulieMPron/status/233432565376241664
julie´s last [type] ..Back to school shopping checklist
[Reply]
hmmm. favorite olympic moment… probably Gabby or Aly winning gold. That was awesome.
But, really, watching synchronized diving with my kids. They were moving up and down and feeling every twist and turn with the divers. that was all sorts of amazing.
julie´s last [type] ..Back to school shopping checklist
[Reply]
Gabby Douglas getting the best all around gold
[Reply]
gabby getting the gold
[Reply]
https://twitter.com/LuckyDuckyToo/status/233403636150050816
[Reply]
I liked watching the US Women’s Soccer team defeat Canada in the final 30 seconds of the game, and advance to the final.
[Reply]
I like cheering for the swimming. And cheering loudly because my son wont let me cheer for him out loud. I have to scream silently in my head when I watch him swim or run. The cheering breaks his concentration I’m told.
Tracy´s last [type] ..Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller
[Reply]
My favorite moment was seeing Gabby Douglas win the gold for gymnastics.
[Reply]
I cheered for the U.S.A.!
Annie~SavorThisMoment´s last [type] ..Turning my China Hutch into a Scrap Space
[Reply]
I loved watching Aly Raisman’s parents when THEY were watching her on the uneven parallel bars. They were so in tune and crazily moving around with her, it was fun to watch! I love that the Beach Volleyball Team won their third straight Gold. They are awesome athletes, but when did Beach Volleyball become an Olympic sport?
Annie~SavorThisMoment´s last [type] ..Turning my China Hutch into a Scrap Space
[Reply]
We LOVED seeing Oscar Pistorius run!
Dina @ 4 Lettre Words´s last [type] ..Sharp Shooters
[Reply]
https://twitter.com/hardertobreathe/status/233331710056615937 Tweeted!
Beeb Ashcroft´s last [type] ..Blog Challenge: Share Your Fridge And Pantry
[Reply]
I gave Nastia Liukin another cheer!
[Reply]
My favorite moment was the British girl who got totally busted checking out one of the male swimmers…LOL. Sorry, it was just funny! Thanks for the giveaway!
Beeb Ashcroft´s last [type] ..Blog Challenge: Share Your Fridge And Pantry
[Reply]