Watching the Winter Olympics reminds me of my Aunt T, who loved figure skating so much she pursued it as an adult hobby (I remember going to her ice shows a couple of times as a kid growing up in Michigan). When we would watch the Olympics (winter only, for the figure skating), it would be at my grandma’s house, my Aunt raptly watching the television in the corner, and it had to be quiet during the performances: normally jovial and beneficent Auntie T would erupt into a furor if people spoke during figure skating, and it was a respect I happily obliged.
On some nights, Aunt T would play Monopoly with us, teaching us the ins and outs of her strategies, and we would talk. Later in life, my Aunt T would send me her viewed Entertainment Weekly’s (old magazines), giving me an early taste for media consumption and criticism, and when we would see an occasional movie it was always a treat. We bonded when she watched my brother and I while we were young for a week (when my mother was out of town) and she took me out for dinner before graduating college–I love you Aunt T, and I wish you and Uncle S all the best, Always.