Deck the Lanes

 

As the kids got more serious about the sport and started swimming year-round, I often felt very resentful of all the meets scheduled in December. It was such a busy time trying to get ready for the holidays. I worked full time (in part to pay for their swimming),  and I needed every minute of the weekend to shop, cook, wrap, decorate…etc. Who had time to spend all weekend, or even one day in December, at a swim meet? Why couldn’t they give us a break from it then??

It was increasingly important to my kids though, and I soon found myself agreeing to attend just as many meets in December as we did the rest of the winter. I got used to writing my holiday cards while sitting in the bleachers. I learned what stores were next to each pool, no matter which city we were in, so I could run out to shop for gifts between events. I read cooking magazines and planned more than one holiday menu & grocery list while sitting at a swim meet. I ate the Christmas cookies they served to the timers that time of year, & formed a bond with other swim parents who were doing the same thing.                            

Last year was the first Christmas in more than a decade that I have not had to juggle holiday plans around swim meets. I finished the shopping earlier than I can ever remember. I wasn’t crazed & stressed the last weekend before Christmas. It felt wierd.

To my great surprise, I discovered that I missed traveling to the big invitationals that herald the start of the high school swim season. I missed seeing kids dressed swim suits and Santa hats.  I missed putting goggles, power bars & goofy swim caps in stockings. Go figure!

In some sick way I even missed watching a kid get up before dawn all during winter break to head off to the hardest practices of the year. It was truly humbling to watch them demonstrate that kind of commitment. It was a visual, daily reminder of the strength and character our children had developed.

Happy Hoildays to all the swimmers and timers and coaches out there. If you are still at the races this year, strap some jingle bells to your sandals and enjoy the ride while it lasts.