As the 2016 Olympics come to a close, I’d like to extend my deepest and sincerest appreciation to ALL the athletes competing in Rio. In the past two weeks, my family and I have tirelessly and anxiously watched as much LIVE and online streaming coverage as humanly possible. We, with the rest of the country, were cheering on TEAM USA and with every given opportunity, I couldn’t help but point out to my two little, wided-eyed spectators all the beautiful, radiant moments and some of the not so sleek moments that the media happened to catch with their coverage. Both my children participate in athletics. One is still young and figuring it all out and the other is very serious and goal-orientated in her sport and dedication towards it. The herculian effort of each athlete, their “Road to Rio” story, and consistant, driven dedication is beyond inspirational -just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Clearly, not every athlete will come home with a medal, which is why it was imperative for me to point out to my children that medals do not tell the whole …