At the end of February, we attended our last Southeastern Championship swim meet. It marked the end of short course. Pumpkin's been swimming since he was about 5, quite a long time. He's been fortunate to qualify for all events every year. We went every year whether it was in Knoxville or Nashville. This year it was in Nashville. It worked out great. The Big Guy drove him there for the first day. We tag teamed it on Friday with me staying and The Big Guy heading back to Memphis.
There are lots of swimmers and families that we know. We have that swim bond of sitting through meet after meet. I wanted to give the moms a little thank you. Swimming has opened many doors. We've met some wonderful people. Of course, I did not start thinking about this until the last minute. At about the same time, we were dealing with my mom's healing. She drinks lots of hot tea. I firmly believe that is what kept her so healthy for so long. The thought occurred to me to make tea bag wallets.
I dusted off my machine and whipped up some of these. The elastic is just a hair tie. A few kids are going to the University of Alabama. I used up scraps of that fabric and scraps of others. It was perfect. I think I ended up making about 20 of them. It was so much fun to give everyone a "happy." The best is that it was a simple little gift. It came from the heart including a bit from my mom!
The meet was very enjoyable. Pumpkin had good swims qualifying for finals and sticking it out through Sunday night. I will savor all the memories. What I wasn't ready for was the emotional impact on Pumpkin when it was over. He got in the car and let it all out. He is still swimming but this was his last big swim meet before his collegiate career begins. Yes. He will miss all the people, the fun he had and the wonderful coaches. For years, the pool was his release. He was obnoxious, he goofed off like a teenage boy, but he worked hard putting in his yardage and practices. I hope the pool remains that sort of stress release. We know he is gonna need it!
2 comments:
Becky, those tea bag wallets are such a great gift!! They look professionally made! (I thought you were going to say you bought them at first!) What a great idea. I haven't seen them anywhere before. My mom also is a daily tea drinker (and she is still as active and busy as your mom always has been!). You'll have to tell me where you found the pattern, or if it's your own! I really can't believe Pumpkin is finished with grade school swimming. I still can picture him as a toddler and I swear it wasn't that many years ago! I hope he does continue his love of swimming. Craig went to Gettysburg College on a swim/soccer scholarship but decided once he was there, that he was finished with both. That's how he ended up transferring to OSU which worked out for me (!), but I always wondered what would have happened if he had stuck with one or both. He's a good soccer coach now and he loves the water! Maybe we'll be watching Pumpkin in the Olympics?? Exciting times!
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