Would You Take a Leave of Absence to Volunteer at the 2018 Winter Olympics?

My family LOVES watching the Olympic Games.

But other than my son, we aren’t a sports family. In fact, we find that we know little about the Olympic events. Yet we still get into them.

Why?

I remember watching the Winter Games one year when my kids were young and then during the commercials we mimicked the actions of the speed skaters in the living room — swinging our arms and sliding side to side. We “raced” around the house, knocking things off the walls. And then we “raced” back to the sofa to watch the next event.

We laughed and laughed.

I cherish those moments.

Last summer, I watched the 2016 Summer Olympics with my 17-year-old daughter. (The older two were off working in Alaska for the summer.)

NBC did a nice piece on the volunteers who work the Games. My daughter said, “I would love to volunteer at the Olympic Games someday.”

What a thought!

I was with her. I wanted to do that too.

But I’m 53.

And I have a job.

And responsibilities.

I pushed the thought aside.

However, as we watched, the thought needled me. I couldn’t let it go.

What would be happening in my world in February 2018? I realized our three children would all be in college then. We’d be empty nesters.

No children at home would mean no crazy schedules.

But it would also mean three kids in college. Pricey!

What was I thinking?

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