Let’s hope they do come in threes

“Why do these things keep happening to me?!?” Thomas cried out last night.  It broke my heart.  Poor kid has had a rough week!  First the jagged metal hanging off the broken tent post cut him last Thursday at a swim meet, then the wagon handle seemed to find his eye on Monday and then tonight, he stepped on something a few feet from our dinner table. 

We were quite perplexed as to what it was.  I had just vacuumed the day before and couldn’t tell you when the last time we broke anything sharp.  But he was clearly in pain and something had clearly pierced his heel.  After trying to find it and get it out ourselves, we couldn’t seem to figure it out.  We were pretty sure SOMETHING was in there…you could sort of see it just under the surface of the skin and Thomas was begging to go to the doctor.  So we took him to the local urgent care facility.  I think the doctor thought we were a bit crazy and thought there was nothing in his foot.  He told Thomas he could dig around in there or give him an xray.  I was sort of against him having an x-ray when it seemed a bit unnecessary, but I was feeling so sorry for Thomas and didn’t want him to have any more pain than necessary.  If I had it to do again, we would have skipped the x-ray and I would have followed my intuition that KNEW something was there…but we had the xray, and sure enough…something was there:

See that little thing right there in his heel?  Turned out to be a very small, but very jagged piece of glass  -- about a 1/2 a centimeter long and 1/4 centimeter wide.  Still don’t know where on earth it came from, but after a numbing shot and then almost 10 minutes of digging around by the doctor, it was finally out.  Whew.  If things do in fact come in threes, then that’s his third freak accident in a week, so let’s be done for at least a year.  Thanks universe.  :)

Swim meet #5

Perhaps the crazy mishap at the last meet with the piece of metal finding Thomas was a bit of foreshadowing of things to come.  After Vacation Bible School on Monday the boys decided to set up their lemonade stand again (they had been cut short by bad weather and a wayward raccoon on Sunday).  So they did and some friends came over to give them some business.

Thomas was just sitting in the chair at the stand while a friend’s 4-year old was playing with the metal wagon next to him.  He managed to kick the handle up and it flew up and hit Thomas in the eye (or next to his eye).  I was thankful it didn’t hurt his actual eye, but it didn’t dawn on me until it was time for swim practice that it might pose a problem for swimming.  It was pretty bruised and very sore and he was not able to put on his goggles without pain.

He was unable to practice on Monday.  I talked about it with his coaches and we decided that he would not be put in anything for “points” at Tuesday’s meet just in case he was not able to swim.  We asked them to put him in butterfly and freestyle exhibitions and they agreed.  We had him ice it a lot on Monday evening and luckily by Tuesday morning’s practice he was able to wear his goggles.  Still, we enjoyed a little break from having to stay until the end of the meet for relays!

Parker was up first with the 6 & under freestyle exhibition.  As he was lining up, a friend asked me why Parker wasn’t wearing his goggles.  I knew that he had them, so I rushed over to find out what had happened.  He was next to jump in and told me he had given his to a friend who forgot his.  I told him that was very nice of him, but I would rather he (Parker) swim with his and I had a spare pair I was happy to loan his friend.  So I put them back on Parker, rushed over to get the spare set and rushed back just in time to give the goggles to the other boy and see Parker swim.  Unfortunately, I did not have my phone with me and was unable to video his swim.  Just trust me when I say he did much better and it was great to finally see some improvement with his swim!

Thomas was up next for his freestyle exhibition. He managed to get his lowest recorded individual time of the season (he swims faster in the relay, but those times aren’t recorded individually).  So that was good.  He was in lane 5 and swam in 24.50 seconds.

Thomas swims personal season best freestyle exhibition

He didn’t have long before his next event, butterfly.  He was happy to be swimming it again.  I’m not sure his stroke was his best, but his time was okay.  He was swimming exhibition, but finished a half second behind the 3rd place finisher.  His recorded time was 31.19 seconds.  He is swimming here in Lane 1 (closest to the camera):

Thomas swims butterfly exhibition

Next up, this was the first meet when all 6 & unders swam backstroke.  Parker is JUST learning this and his technique needs some work, but he seemed to have fun with it.  His time was 51 seconds.  But that was 51 seconds with a lot of smiles.

Parker swims backstroke for first time at meet

While we didn’t stay for the end, the team just barely missed out on this one too…losing by about 23 points.

Swim meet #4

Yesterday was our second and final meet of the week versus Newington.  I think the whole team was a little deflated after the super close defeat on Tuesday.  Everyone seemed a little off.  Well, maybe not everyone…but some.  And Thomas, not sure what was going on…not his best showing (but he tried!).

First up was Thomas swimming the final leg of the mixed medley relay for exhibition.  Not sure if it was because he was the only one in the pool, or the way they have to start (from in the pool, not jumping off the side), but it was not his best time.  Here he was in lane 5 (time was 29.20 – yikes).

Thomas swims final leg of mixed medley exhibition relay

Next it was Parker’s turn in the exhibition freestyle event for the 6 & under group.  Parker was in lane 3.

Parker in freestyle exhibition

Then it was Thomas’ turn.  He was in lane 6 (also exhibition).  He finished 1st or 2nd for his heat with a time of 26.69.

Thomas swims freestyle exhibition

I should add that right as the boys were lining up for the freestyle exhibition, there was a metal stake sticking out from the post on the ribbons tent and as Thomas and the other boys walked by, in scraped him on his side and cut the top of his hand.  He came over to me quite upset, but I begged him to try to swim anyway since the wounds didn’t seem too deep and there wasn’t much I could do for them anyway.  Not sure if that affected his time…but that was that.

Then it was time for Thomas’ one points event for the night, breaststroke.  It’s been funny this season.  It’s not his favorite or best stroke, but his coaches keep putting him there and he keeps giving it a try.  I know he’s going to finally figure it out one of these days!  Here he was in Lane 5.  Finished 3rd place…again.  :)

Thomas swims breaststroke for points

Last event for the evening, Thomas swam in the exhibition lane for the freestyle relay.  He was the lead-off swimmer in Lane 5.  His time was about 27.43 seconds.  I think he said he was having some goggle trouble.  He did seem to go a bit sideways at a point…

In the end, as I said, Thomas seemed a little off…and so did the team.  It was our worst loss of the season this far (by nearly 100 points).  Better luck next time.

Swim Meet #3

For the third meet of the season, our team traveled to Mt. Pleasant to Brickyard Plantation.  Thomas didn’t have his best showing in the previous meeting, so instead of competing in four events, he was competing for two events (for points) and two for exhibition.  Since Parker is in the 6 & under group, they were just swimming freestyle for exhibition, as usual.

First up was Thomas in the Mixed Medley Relay – exhibition lane.  Thomas swam the final leg of the relay, the freestyle leg.  By the time he got in the water, the points teams had already finished (or were close to it!), so it’s easy to find him in the video.  :)  He swam well.  His time was 23.90 seconds.

 

Thomas swims the final leg of exhibition mixed medley relay

Soon it was time for Parker and the 6 & under group to swim freestyle.  Here he is, three lanes from the camera:

Parker swims freestyle–38.67 time

Then it was time for Thomas.  He also swam this event just for exhibition.  He did, however, finish first in his heat.  His time was 26.15 (though I timed him at 25.87).  He is in the third lane from the camera.

Thomas swimming exhibition freestyle

After a little lull in competition for our boys, soon it was time for Thomas to swim his first “points” event of the night – breaststroke.  It’s not his favorite, but his coach has confidence in him (and his ability to stay “legal” and not disqualify).  So here he goes, he’s in the lane closest to the camera. 

Thomas swimming breaststroke

Despite his third place finish (37.22 seconds), he earned a 2nd place ribbon because the 2nd place finisher was disqualified for some reason. 

Next up was the final event of the night.  Thomas swam the third leg of the freestyle relay.  My phone ran out of room for the video before the end of the race, but you can see Thomas.  His team is in the top of the two lanes (in the middle):

Thomas in third leg of Freestyle relay

Thomas wasn’t quite the slowest leg, but it wasn’t his best time in the relays.  He always swims much faster in the relays than individually.  His time here was 24.48 seconds.  His team fell behind in the final leg and took second place.

In the end, the boys did well and so did the team.  They came SO CLOSE to winning their first meet of the season, losing by only two points.  Maybe next time…

Swim meet #2

We have survived our first week of swim meets for the summer.  It’s been a bit of a shock to the system to get back into the rigorous schedule.  Tuesdays & Thursdays will be LONG for the next few weeks.  This week we started off with practice (on those days) at 8 am and kept going until Thomas’ final swims around 10 pm.  Whew!

Thursday night’s meet was at Sha-Mel-Lon pool in West Ashley.  Thomas was up first in the Mixed Medley Relay swimming the final leg: freestyle.  By the time he got in the pool, they were already a lap behind the other team, but he did great and he got another second place ribbon.  Here was his swim:

Thomas swims freestyle

Then Parker was up.  He was swimming (exhibition) against two of his best buddies.  He started off strong and then…well, he had to breathe.  We are still working on that part!  It’s all just for fun though, so mission accomplished! He’s in the lane furthest from the camera (Lane 2):

Parker swims freestyle

Then after a little wait, it was time for Thomas to swim butterfly.  He seemed a little tired and his stroke was a bit off (he says his goggles weren’t working right), but he earned a third place ribbon nonetheless.  And Thomas, not known for being uber competitive, was perfectly okay with that!  He’s in the lane closest to the camera (Lane 4) here:

Third place butterfly

Next up was Thomas in the breaststroke.  It’s still not his favorite stroke, but apparently he’s one of the few on his team who is “legal” in it, so he keeps getting put in it “for points.”  When I saw the judge indicate a disqualification, I thought it was Thomas (because it was on Tuesday), but turns out he was okay (and it was the person next to him who stopped midstroke who DQd – even though they finished first!).  So Thomas’ third place finish earned him a second place ribbon because of the other child’s DQ.  He’s in the lane closest to me again:

Third place breaststroke wins second place

For the final event of the night Thomas was in the Freestyle Relay.  He was swimming the third leg and did a great job of moving his team into first place for the final leg (helped a bit by the goggle malfunction of his competitor).  The final swimmer on his relay lost his lead and it appeared our team would settle for second place until we realized the other team DQd on the final leg with an illegal streamline.  So Thomas’ team won first place – but due to some sort of issue at the ribbon table, they ran out of first place ribbons so we have nothing to prove it.    Here’s the video of his leg (he’s in Lane 2, three lanes away from me):

Thomas swims final freestyle relay

I’m glad our first week is in the books.  Parker is just as proud of his two exhibition ribbons as Thomas is of his one 1st place ribbon, 1 3rd place ribbon and five 2nd place ribbons! 

Two more next week!

Swim team 2014

Last night the swim season officially began with our boys.  They were really excited about it.  Thomas was put in four events, so Mommy was a bit nervous about it.  :)

Thomas was put in the opening Mixed Medley Relay (swimming the butterfly leg), then he was assigned to swim individually in the butterfly and breaststroke.  Breaststroke, while he finally has somewhat mastered the mechanics of it, is not his strongest stroke.  We weren't quite sure how that would go, but he was up for it.  Then he was to swim the third of three freestyle legs in the closing Freestyle Relay.  Parker, as one of the 6 & unders, was only to swim one leg of freestyle in an exhibition competition.  So basically, we were in for a long night!

Some of the 6 & unders were quite excited about their big debuts!

 

Meanwhile, Thomas lined up for his opening swim (butterfly in the Mixed Medley Relay).

 

He did GREAT!  It was his best butterfly time to date (26.18 secs...though I think this pool was 25Y, not 25M -- I still think it was his best swim ever!).  Overall though their relay team was bested by the other team, but he earned his second place ribbon and was happy about it (no picture of that ribbon).  Here's a video of his swim.  

 

Next it was Parker's turn for his inaugural swim.  He's still learning the mechanics of freestyle, so I wasn't quite sure how he'd do, but he did great.  He is still learning how to properly take a breath while swimming, but once he gets that down, he will be off to the races! :)  A lady started talking to me just before his start and I sadly missed the beginning of his swim, but here is at least half of it.  He is in the second lane from the top (in the green cap):

He had the biggest smile when he came over to show it off to his adoring fans (his Daddy & me and his Aunt Beth & Uncle Greg)

 

Next up, after a bit of a lull in competition for us, was Thomas' butterfly  (individually).  He seemed a tiny bit tired (it was after 8 pm at this point), but he did well and finished second! Here is that swim.  He is in lane 5 (second lane from the top):

 

After I watched this one, I timed it and his time was 31.10.  Definitely not his best time.  Remember it was 26.18 earlier in the evening.  And, to compare it to the boy who finished first, his time was 26.36.  So yep, if Thomas could get more consistent with his fly, this red ribbon could turn blue.  :)  Either way, he was thrilled and so was (am) I!!!!

 

Next up was breaststroke.  As I said, not his strongest stroke.  He has just been really learning the mechanics of it and due to weather, his own illness and a crazy incident at the Rec Center on Monday, he has had VERY little practice over the last week.  He unfortunately was disqualified right at the end of the swim.  Not sure exactly why but it must have been something with his kick (I hope we find out more at practice today so he can work on it).  The other child swimming for our team was also DQ'd, so not quite our night in that stroke.  Oh well, he wasn't too upset by it.  Here was his swim; he's in lane 2 (from the top of the screen -- you'll see the judge's hand go up (across the pool) right at the end to indicate the disqualification):

Last up was the Freestyle Relay and it was pushing 10 pm.  This, however, is definitely Thomas' strongest stroke.  He had a goggle mishap in the time trials last week and the coaches had to use those times to see who would swim for points last night.  His time was off by at least 5 seconds then, so I'm guessing that's why he swam the other two strokes.  Anyway, the coaches pick the four strongest swimmers in his division (7-8 boys) to swim this relay, so it's an honor that he's in it.  :)  I don't think it was his fastest and best ever, but it was very good and we were all quite proud of him.  Again, his relay team finished second.  Here was Thomas' leg of the relay (he's in Lane 3 -- which is fourth from the top if you can't see the bottom lane):

 We survived the first meet and came home with three 2nd place riboons and one exhibition (well, two including the one from the DQ l -- oops!).  Swim season is officially back in effect, which means late nights and late dinners.  We try not to let him eat too much during the meet, so he only had a half a sandwich there.  But when he got home he finished off his dinner just before bed.  Nothing like dinner at 10:15.  :-{

Here's hoping for a fun season!