swim team

A nearby country club hosts a recreational summer swim team. Several families in our ward participate, and Grace wanted in. Really badly. As in, she cried for an hour when I told her I didn't think it would work out this summer. Grant wasn't ready for swim team and needed to take swim lessons elsewhere, and the swim team season straddled the date of Jeffery's c-section. Practices were every morning, Monday through Friday with multiple meets on week nights. I was so worried about over-scheduling our family. But then, a sweet friend offered to drive Grace whenever I needed. And even then, when I was still on the fence, she said it would be doing her a favor to take Grace- something about her kids being better about getting out the door in the morning because they would be picking up Grace- and then threatened to pay for Grace to do swim team... I was clearly out numbered, and good thing. It was a good experience for our girl and everything worked out really well.

Swim practice did not end up being the big social event Gracie was expecting. The kids swam laps. Lots and lots of laps. At the beginning of the season, Grace was routinely the last one in. This was very discouraging to her. We talked a lot with her about how we were doing swim team to help her become a better swimmer and to have fun with her friends. She only needed to be competing with herself and she didn't need to worry with comparing herself to anyone else... 

We were glad she stuck with it. This is probably the first thing she has tried where she hasn't risen without much effort to the top of the pack. It was a great learning experience for her in this way. And, her swimming really improved! 

The swim meets were chaotic to say the least. But we got the hang of it. The facility is outdoors and temperatures still hover in the 100's in the evenings which is no problem for the swimmers. The rest of us, however... And I was so enormously pregnant that I actually had people (as in, multiple, unsolicited people) approach me to tell me that I shouldn't be there. So, Cori took her to a few meets and our friends took her to others. I was able to go to her last meet. It was days after JJ's birth and my mom was still with us. So I gingerly made my way around the crowd to get some pictures and cheer as well as I could.

She started out the season coming in last in all her races. But by the end of the season she was moving up the ranks and even got a 3rd place ribbon in breast stroke. We kept all her times and helped her see how the seconds were falling off her laps at every meet.

Grace and Kolby - the friends who would do swim team together, no matter what.