Jessi swam her first summer swim meet today and her last summer swim meet ever. She swam for Parkcrest at Monona. She started swimming at Shorewood when she was only 4. She switched pools a couple of years ago and seemed to fit in like she'd been a part of Parkcrest all her life. I watch as she mingles with coaches, young kids and her peers and I know she loves being around them all. Leaving this all behind was the hardest part of her decision to attend the Naval Academy. She has mentioned more than once that she wished she could be coaching this summer. She loves swimming and she loves sharing that love.
I read recently that college athletes were asked what their parents said that made them feel great and their overwhelming response was hearing their parents say, "I love to watch you play." For me, it's always been "I love to take pictures while you play/swim/throw/run." I remember telling the girls at a swim meet, that I didn't care if they won, they only had to finish and no matter what, never stop in the middle of a race and cry (I told them that after we witnessed a little girl stop in the middle of the pool and cry rather than finish her race). At soccer games, I used to tell them that as long as I got a few good pictures, I could care less if they won (there were quite a few games I wanted them to lose so that we could go home early during tournaments). BUT it was always important to me for them to be competitors-- in the game or in the pool. My initial insistance on having all three of my girls swim well was because my mom has a swimming pool and I am not a good swimmer. I never wanted to be put in a position where I needed to save a drowning kid and to this day, all three are great swimmers and love the water (Monika, not as much). As I think about the next level of swimming Jessi has ahead of her, I am so excited. I can't wait to get some cool college swimming photos.
The rest of our day was non-eventful. Erika went to a wedding, the other girls went to a couple of grad parties. My husband and I walked the dog and ordered pizza. It was a muggy summer Saturday.
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