Ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo, we all fall down!

That's how I have to sing Ring Around the Rosy over here. They've assigned me to help with the nursery kids (18 months to 3 years) at church, and that's just one of the songs that the little pew monkeys get wrong. But I'm too nice to say anything about it.

The kids are actually quite cute (there are 6 of them) and I'm just amazed at how well they've picked up the cute li'l English accents. I wish I could do it as well as they can. One little girl named Phoebe has an American dad and was born in the US, so I like to ask her if she's American. "Yes! I'm Phoebe and I'm American and English and British. I'm both."

So I'm learning new songs like "Wind the Bobbin Up" and stuff that I've never heard of before, and the songs that I thought I knew (like "Ring around the Rosy") are completely different. But, you know, they don't notice yet that I don't have a clue. And lucky for them I'm not the only adult in there. Also they're getting a little bit more used to me since I've been in there for a few weeks. At first only one little girl named Chloe would have any dealings with me--and that consisted of her silently picking out the raisins that had little tiny dried stems still left on and holding them out to me between two fingers so that I could pick the offending stems off. It felt nice to be useful, though.

But, we're not here to talk about the part where I am now the picker-offer of raisin stems and wiper of noses, but about the falling down, which it seemed like pretty much Everyone was doing on the ice last night. I realize that falling must be quite traumatic for the actual athlete, but it's no picnic for me either. I gasp loudly and throw my hands over my mouth and/or face and cry "Oh noooo!!!" and jump so violently that my bottom leaves the seat cushion. So, really, I'm surprised my hair wasn't white by the end of the women's freestyle program last night.

SO Much Falling.

and falling

falling, falling, falling

still with the falling

yikes

And then we have Shizuka Arakawa, who managed to keep it together. And I don't think that she won just because everyone else was rubbish and fell on their trashes. She looked absolutely beautiful and graceful and perfect out there, and her routine was one of the most (if not the most) difficult. After seeing her skate, I wanted her to win, because she was the only one who gave me that Olympic Euphoria you get when you're seeing something breathtaking. And I love that she skated to "Nessun Dorma," because that one always gives me chills.