Water Is His Sky

Indulge me in another congratulatory post on the occasion of R's recently concluded swim meet.

The whole summer, he looked forward to going to the club and enjoyed the company of his friends in the pool.  Their company - of five little men and a muse - is the perfect embodiment of summer's exuberance.  The daily one-hour of training passing so fast for the reason that lively laughter and cheerful chit-chat ruled - to the consternation of the coach.

After spending almost all of the summer afternoons soaking and swimming in the pool, it is only a fitting event to end the summer with an entire day doing nothing but.

The night before the meet, as I tucked him to bed, he held my hand and asked, "what if I finish last, are you still going to be proud of me?"  I assured him, "Even if you finish last, mommy will still be proud of you - just as long as you swim your best."  I went on, " the older kids might be faster than you, but if you give swim your best, you are a winner in mommy's eyes!"  He is playful most of the time, so it is a different side of him that I saw that night - filled with self-doubt.

When we got to the club, the pool was already teeming with swimmers doing warm-ups, and the sight of the pool just overflowing with swimmers throwed him off for a minute.  He initially hesitated to go in for his warm-up, but relented after a few encouragement.

He was listed in the 6 and under category and swam one lap for three events in the 25-meter pool.  He made me proud as he determinedly swam at a consistent speed, without stopping midway to catch his breath.  Thank goodness for that! 

Doing the freestyle swim.

After the initial uncertainty, he quickly warmed up and allowed himself to relax and have some fun.

Talking up quite a storm while waiting for the gun-start during the 25-meter backstroke.

Even the breaks in-between the swim-heat was an occasion for FUN!

While he did not get any medals for his efforts, he absolutely won MY heart!