I swam growing up and I'd forgotten how hectic swim meets can be. We attended our niece Jane's state swim meet last Saturday and it's a whirlwind. Throngs of under-14 swimmers milling back and forth, coaches' tables lining all sides of the pool and parents and other event-goers hurriedly making their way somewhere. The pool deck is so narrow on three sides it's a wonder nobody get shoved into the pool occasionally.
Then there's the schedule. Swimming is pure dedication. Jane swam Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and on Saturday and Sunday, at least, she had to be at the pool by 6am. She swam several events each morning and then had 4+ hours of downtime before swimming more events in the late afternoon/early evening. Meets are that way throughout the season and the season pretty much lasts all year. It's no wonder Michael Phelps occasionally (and foolishly) displays a wild side - he's always swimming.
Jane is a great swimmer and comes from a long line of them, including her dad who nearly qualified for the Olympics a couple decades ago and her aunt (my wife) who was quite the swimmer growing up. Jane is a distance swimmer which means races longer than 200 meters or so.
Audrey and Grace attended of course - it was their first swim meet. Everything remains so new for Grace that she just stares wide-eyed at everything she sees. Audrey loved seeing Jane but found the pool area, with its tile walls and floors amplifying the continuous roar of the onlookers, coaches and swimmers, a bit loud. So she plugged her ears while she watched.
(The ear plugging thing has become common around loud noises. During the last 4th of July Audrey plugged her ears during the entire fireworks show. A month or so ago we took her to an event where a brass band provided the entertainment - our front row table meant her ears would remain plugged the whole time. The one time she doesn't plug her ears, in fact, is when she's the one making the loud noise. Then it's Daddy plugging his ears.)
In any case, Audrey was bummed when we had to leave the swim meet and Jane had to stay to swim some more. My wife and I left contemplating whether we've got what it takes to raise a kid who's got the schedule of a swimmer. Audrey says she's contemplating it but I think she's a bit wary of the water. Right now it's all about seeing her older cousin Jane.
