Swim Little Fishy

Ahhhh the sweet joy of sitting for 6 hours straight on concrete bleachers. What is more fun or more joyous than one's butt firmly plastered to a concrete slab? I believe my back is acutely aware of every passing second of every passing minute of every passing hour. I am sooo sore but it was so worth it. Today was the big District Swim Meet at Ohio State University. The entire natatorium was packed. It was so packed that one's butt cheeks barely fit on the bleachers and there was absolutely no elbow room. It is quite interesting to watch all the different kinds of spectators/parents at the swim meet. You have the yellers, the whistlers, the whooping and hollerers, the nail biters and the head shakers. You always see some parents that are  bitterly disappointed no matter what time their swimmer placed. I feel sorry for them. Me - well I am the kind of parent that sits and smiles. I smile with as much enthusiasm as I have and never really care what the time clock displays. My question is always - "Did you have fun?" "Did you go out there for the love of the sport?"  "Did you do your best?" And invariably the answer is always "Yes" so I smile some more. I say, "I am so proud of you." I say, "I am SO glad I got to see you!" And what do I get in return? Well I get smiles back! I get waves hello and happy faces and thanks for coming.  I am always grateful that I have children that compete fairly and honestly and are kind and respectful to their teammates, coaches, and their opponents. How could any parent ask for more? Today my daughter swam her heart out. Before the race even began I took a moment to reflect how lucky we were to be there. I looked at my daughter way down on the pool deck and she looked back at me and we both gave each other the look. The look that said, you made it! We are here! The look that said we love each other and here goes the very last swim meet of your entire high school career. So go out there. Go out there swimming with a big smile. Go out there and do your best because no matter what... No matter how you finish....I will never be more proud than this moment, right here, right now, even before your feet hit the water. So swim Little Fishy Swim! And she did. And she swam faster than she ever swam in her life. And I smiled, with the exact same smile I had when she hit the water. The second she finished she looked right at me and we smiled together. Good job my little fishy. I have loved every swim stroke of every event of every meet.