July 8, 2017 was a momentous day for our twelve year old. If you are a swim parent, you understand the six weeks of intense craziness that comes with summer swim team. For the past 4 weekends, she competed in Saturday morning swim meets hoping to realize goals she set last fall. Last Saturday, she swam an all-star nominating time in breast stroke. And she won a couple more races to seal her 1st place standing in her age group.
She set these goals last year. And it took a year of hard work to realize them. This is the same child who cried after two hour practices, unaccustomed to the volume and intensity of the workouts. This is also the same child who rolled her eyes when I suggested that she should practice her turns instead of resting at the pool wall. And this is also the same child who thought it was crazy to kick up her pace towards the end of a practice set. But she reluctantly made these simple changes to her practice. And she took responsibility for the improvements in her swim strokes by asking her coaches for help and practicing the necessary adjustments.
The athlete I saw compete last Saturday did so with grace and determination. This is a big THANK YOU to all the coaches for teaching my daughter the value of hard work, focus, and team work. Last Saturday was the first time in her six years on swim team that she made an all-star nominating time. Right after her swim she ran around giving celebratory high fives to her coaches and teammates. But best of all, she ran right over and gave me a big, chlorine-scented hug. It doesn't get much better than that.
Whenever I feel discouraged, I need to remember this glorious day. I just need to take inspiration from my daughter (or Dory, for you Finding Nemo fans) and to just keep swimming.