The Apples That Fell Far From the Tree…and Then Rolled Away

Today was the first swim meet for Braeden and Emma. We packed up a sun shade, camp chairs, snacks, water bottles, lemonade, sunscreen, goggles, beach towels and chocolate chip cookies for the team (our turn for treats). Adam and I had a little bit of trepidation about it. While our kids are very comfortable in the water and know how to do all the strokes, this is their first competitive swimming experience and they’re not so fast. We were afraid they’d be discouraged.

Well they weren’t.

First, I should explain that they had team swim suits that were optional to buy. The boys’ suits were tight Speedos. Braeden and I decided they were Speedon’t and opted out. We’re the McCollum Frogs and the suits are green so I picked up bright green swim shorts at Target last night…for the meets. Once we got to the meet, Adam pointed out that they were huge--knee length with lots of baggy fabric. Adam said he’ll catch fish in those shorts.

It got worse, the shorts were also on the loose side. As Braeden swam in his first event, a relay where he was swimming freestyle, he had to pull up his shorts every few strokes. Adam said that Braeden was going to come in 6th and his shorts were going to come in 7th. Adam left right after the race and went to a store to buy some Speedon’t shorts for Braeden for the rest of the events.

Did it bother Braeden when he came in dead last with his shorts falling down? Not in the least. He thought his ballooning shorts were funny and joked about wearing a parachute.

Then there was Emma with her goggles. The adjusting apparatus on the sides kept coming loose and when she’d dive in at the beginning of the race, her goggles would come up and fill with water. This happened in two different races and both times she’d swim blindly and run into the lane lines in a zig zag pattern. Did it bother her when she blindly came in dead last? Not in the least. She was frustrated by her goggles but not willing to let it curb her good time.

Let me contrast this to their mother. When I was in elementary school, the worst day of every school year was usually in the last week of school and was the track and field day. Thank goodness for Carla Dickinson because without her I would have come in last in every race. Every year. To make matters infinitely worse, my cousin Shanon would win every race and climbed on the bus with handfuls of blue ribbons when we went home on those days. Telling myself that I was better at things like spelling and math didn’t help even a little bit. I hated those track and field days with a white-hot hatred.

In 4th grade I “sprained my ankle" and couldn’t compete in the rest of the day’s events.

In 5th and 6th grade my good mother let me stay home from school on those days. She knew it was too humiliating.

On the way home from the swim meet today I asked Braeden if he liked the relays or individual events better. He said individual but added, "In the relays I didn't lose as epically though."

So where did I get these kids with enough self esteem to come in dead last and to keep swimming even though you’re losing your shorts or can’t see and keep running into things? I don’t know.

I told Adam that maybe it was because of all the sarcasm at our house…they don’t take themselves too seriously. Adam, who’s opposed to all of the sarcasm (in theory only because he’s as sarcastic as the rest of us) said he was sure that is not it.

It’s a mystery but they loved their swim meet and I loved that I have such plucky children. I’ll keep washing the beach towels and swimsuits.