Summer, Day 57
I was so excited about the boys' swim meet tonight.
Ben was swimming in three events for the first time and racing his first-ever breaststroke. Michael was scheduled for his first IM (individual medley -- all four strokes in one race), and when we got to the meet, we found out he was swimming five events tonight, which would be the first time he swam a full slate. With the season winding down, their hard work has been paying off.
Michael even dove well tonight. He has been struggling all season, especially trying to do a back dive. He gets so nervous (even when his coaches are spotting him) that he simply falls butt-first into the water. At tonight's meet, finally, he dove backward all on his own. Alas, he didn't complete the dive, landing hard on his back and drawing a collective "oooh" of pain from the spectators. He cried as he swam to the side, and his back was red for an hour, but we were proud of him -- the front half of the dive was perfect; he just never straightened out. Even Michael's coach, who has been encouraging him not to freak out on the back dive, was happy, looking at me and saying that he finally did what was he has been afraid to do. We've been telling Michael that if he wants to dive competitively, sometimes, it's going to hurt. I hope he feels he accomplished something, because we did.
After Michael was done, we waited for the older kids to finish their meet and the swim meet would begin. My enthusiasm didn't last long.
For a few days now, we've been waiting for forecast thunderstorms to pour much-needed rain on Salt Lake City. For a few days, the skies have been cloudy and threatening without much rain. Tonight, when the meet was about to start, a thunderstorm finally hit. A severe thunderstorm, at that, sending everyone inside just before warmups. The rain didn't stop for a couple hours, but by then, the meet was called. The pool isn't equipped for night swimming, so even if the rain subsided, there wouldn't be enough time to get a whole meet in.
Needless to say, we were disappointed. After the boys' practice this morning, we kept it mellow (staying inside for five hours) this afternoon so they wouldn't be tired for the meet. We got home, played the classic Pay Day game I found for $2.99 and watched a couple old "Batman" episodes. Ben had the best line of the night, after the Batmobile's tires deflated from Catwoman's land mines but were fixed by the Bat Tire Repairer: "Oh, come on!" At age 6, he already is recognizing ridiculous plot devices.
Onward to Day 58.
Ben was swimming in three events for the first time and racing his first-ever breaststroke. Michael was scheduled for his first IM (individual medley -- all four strokes in one race), and when we got to the meet, we found out he was swimming five events tonight, which would be the first time he swam a full slate. With the season winding down, their hard work has been paying off.
Michael even dove well tonight. He has been struggling all season, especially trying to do a back dive. He gets so nervous (even when his coaches are spotting him) that he simply falls butt-first into the water. At tonight's meet, finally, he dove backward all on his own. Alas, he didn't complete the dive, landing hard on his back and drawing a collective "oooh" of pain from the spectators. He cried as he swam to the side, and his back was red for an hour, but we were proud of him -- the front half of the dive was perfect; he just never straightened out. Even Michael's coach, who has been encouraging him not to freak out on the back dive, was happy, looking at me and saying that he finally did what was he has been afraid to do. We've been telling Michael that if he wants to dive competitively, sometimes, it's going to hurt. I hope he feels he accomplished something, because we did.
After Michael was done, we waited for the older kids to finish their meet and the swim meet would begin. My enthusiasm didn't last long.
For a few days now, we've been waiting for forecast thunderstorms to pour much-needed rain on Salt Lake City. For a few days, the skies have been cloudy and threatening without much rain. Tonight, when the meet was about to start, a thunderstorm finally hit. A severe thunderstorm, at that, sending everyone inside just before warmups. The rain didn't stop for a couple hours, but by then, the meet was called. The pool isn't equipped for night swimming, so even if the rain subsided, there wouldn't be enough time to get a whole meet in.
Needless to say, we were disappointed. After the boys' practice this morning, we kept it mellow (staying inside for five hours) this afternoon so they wouldn't be tired for the meet. We got home, played the classic Pay Day game I found for $2.99 and watched a couple old "Batman" episodes. Ben had the best line of the night, after the Batmobile's tires deflated from Catwoman's land mines but were fixed by the Bat Tire Repairer: "Oh, come on!" At age 6, he already is recognizing ridiculous plot devices.
Onward to Day 58.
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