My swimmer and I spent the weekend out of town. We packed the car and headed to a meet that would prepare her for the Senior State meet in December.The times weren't her fastest but there were so many lessons learned.
After the hard work she puts in week after week, racing shows her how far she's come and what she still needs to work on. It's also a great charater builder. During the tears of frustration, my heart breaks for her. I want to hold her and make it all better. But I can't. All I can do is listen, encourage, and remind her of the bigger picture. I know, at that moment, it probably the last thing she wants to hear but I know she's filing it away for later.
Once we're home and she's had a good night's sleep, she can work through those thoughts. Forming a plan when she's cool headed, practice will take on a new focus.
Because I can see the bigger picture, I know her character is developing through all of this. Working hard day after day at practice when you're tired, having a lofty goal that you might not reach the first time, managing your time so that work is completed even when you have two practices per day, declining invitations to hang with friends, putting off immediate gratification for long term satisfaction-these are all things that will help her as she navigates adulthood.
I am so proud of her and the woman she is becoming. I will support her lofty aspirations, wherever they take her.
I am a swim mom.
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