I am getting excited for the Summer Olympics - my family and I have been watching the time trials for track and field and swimming - and I am always amazed at the athletes.

They have been training for years for this event - and sadly some will not make it because of a stumble. or simply because they were not fast enough - and we are talking by a fraction of a second slow.  And their dream of an Olympic medal will end - some for only 4 years - and they will go back to "work" training to be faster, stronger, and better, and for others, this is their last shot.

What does the Olympics have in common with Staging - well we are not athletes in prime condition - most of us anyway - but we do train daily to do our job right. 

We train our eyes to see what we need to see in a house to make changes or to add just the right furnishings.

We train our ears to hear what a client is saying and picking up on nuances of emotions so we respond in the right way.

We train our minds to see things that are not even there - or filter out what we don't want to see so that we can properly and stylishly stage a vacant or occupied house.

We may even act as Coaches for others in our field - which I am proud to have done for many fellow Stagers - and continue to do today, although not in a formal capacity.

We don't get a gold, silver or bronze medal at the end of our jobs, but we can receive awards and rewards for a job well done.

My most memorable Olympics is the one held in 1984 in Los Angeles.  I was a student at UCLA at the time and was privileged to work on campus during the Olympics - and still remember the roar of the crowd at Pauley Pavilion the day Mary Lou Retton won the first US women's All-around Gold medal in gymnastics. I also met many athletes from all over the world.  If I were me now going back to be me then - I would relish in the specialness of it all - and really soak in the "meaning" of that world event.  It was not totally lost on me then - but it would be so much more now.

I was also at the Opening Ceremonies - not as a spectator but as a performer - and danced in the opening along with my twin sister and 300 other dancers from around the US that were hired for this once in a lifetime event.  I can still remember the rehearsals and the costumes and the crowd - it was surreal.  My only regret is that I don't have a tape of that televised performance and my attempts to track one down have not produced anything - yet.  Now with YouTube, I am hopeful that someone will eventually post the performances where my sister and I were shown . . . I have seen several - but not the ones I am looking for . . .

It's fun to see what experiences from our past will help us in our futures.  Who knew that the experience of being a part of the Olympics would stay with me to help me do my job in Staging with an eye for longevity and goal setting, for a goal to get better at what I do, and to keep "training" as a Stager - so that I can serve my clients now and in the future the best way I can.

- Jennie