Swimming Madness, In Absentia

For the first time in three years, our summer did not move to the beat of the swim team season.  Michael decided he did not want to be on the swim team anymore, and we supported his decision (reluctantly, on my part).  We still made a point of going to the pool to see portions of the meets and visit with friends, but the freedom from the practices and meets was just as welcome to us as it was to Michael.  We discovered that weekends actually have many hours in them that can be put to all sorts of uses, some of which are productive.

All the same, we missed some of the camaraderie of the swim team experience, especially for the season-ending league meet.  This year, seizing on the angle that many aquatic Olympians hail from our league's two small towns, a local news station (the one that happens to be broadcasting the Olympics) dropped by for a short report.  The interview (here) features two of Michael's friends.  The first swimmer interviewed also happens to be the son of our kids' orthodontist.  The last interviewee (sporting the blue braces), is Rex, a terrific swimmer and the star of our baseball team this year.  He is one of the most self-confident ten-year-olds you will ever meet, equally comfortable supporting friends and teammates and interacting with adults.  That he was smooth on camera is not a surprise.  This kid is destined to be a student body president someday. 

While we felt small pangs of regret about being apart from the esprit de corps, I think we enjoyed the wide open weekends more.  Those days are soon to end, as soccer and fall baseball start up again before the end of the month, along with school for both kids.  Let the frenetic schedule recommence!