The Fly.

We’re nearing the end of the swimming season in our community. As far as actual dates, there’s still plenty of time to work on your tan, hang out at the pool, and jump off the diving boards---but when it comes to the swim team, it’s a pretty short season. What’s impressive is the commitment these kids have in a difficult sport. They are up early, swimming for up to 2 hours, and they go back for more everyday. Plus on the weekends, and one night a week, they have swim meets that at times are quite a distance away.

What also impresses me is how fast kids learn how to swim and how they really work at perfecting their skills, swim times, and teamwork. It’s a great “life” sport , one you will never regret if you continue.

One of my daughters is really into “what place” she comes in after the race has finished---it’s the ribbon she really cares about. On the other hand our older daughter is really hard on herself---it's funny she is not usually like this, I assume it's because she really cares about swimming, however she doesn't care about the ribbons. She just wants to do better and she can do better; but for what she has done, and how she works at it, she’s doing a great job. Like Charlie Brown’s teacher, when I comment, she hears, “wha wha wha wha.” In other words, like a kid, she just believes what she wants to hear.

There are many strokes they have to learn on the swim team, from “Freestyle (AKA “the crawl”) to the "Breath stroke" to my favorite, “The Butterfly.” That is one difficult stroke. We have a friend who swam for Team U.S.A. in the 1984 Olympics---her stroke was “The Fly.” I can not imagine how much work must go into preparing for such a difficult stroke knowing you are going to be swimming against the world’s best athletes in the sport. Her response, “I came in 13^th place.” My response, “You were in the Olympics, do you not realize how incredible that is to say--- and how many people would kill for that opportunity?” I guess she didn’t care because she gave me a “whatever.”

The photo above is one of my daughter’s swimming “The Fly.” With arms outstretched, she flies through the water; her response, “I came in second place.”I reminded her, there were 5 other kids who didn’t come in second, but she said, “I could have done better.” I love her commitment and drive, I wish she felt the same about dishes and her room, but for both of our girls who are on the swim team, I do hope they stick with it…I want to keep taking pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.