moving on

Saturday was long and hot. I spent 8 hours on the pool deck in my bathing suit trying to scrounge up every bit of shade I could manage. I watched swimmers swim and cheered as I usually do... but it didn't feel like my last meet. It felt unbearably hot.

Then the team party was that night. I came all showered and dressed and ready to get the show on the road. I chatted and mingled and ate pot luck dinner with my parents.

Then the slideshow started, and some crucial people started to get teary.

Crap. How the heck am I going to get through this?

At the end of the slideshow was a slide thanking me and my co-coach, as both of us are leaving. This little girl who has only been on the team for one season, turns to me ever so sincerely and says, "Coach Kate, I'm going to miss you."

I almost lost it then. But I didn't. I saved it for later.

The awards went great, and overall, I have to say it was my favorite team party ever. I got more hugs than you wouldn't believe. So many of my swimmers who I have watched grow up came and gave me hugs and thanks. It was such a nice way to end my run as a swim coach.

I hugged everyone and I walked out of that club house feeling good. Sad, but good.

{Pinterest}

It's time to move on. And that's okay.

the end of an era

This summer has completely flown by in a haze of wedding crafts and vendor coordination. Each day I feel like the hours just slip through my fingers.

Today is my last day of swim practice. It feels like a little bit of a shock because I cannot believe the season is over. I thought I would make a list of the things I will miss and the things I won't miss.

I won't miss:

• Putting in lane lines
• Bad days at practice where no one seems to be listening
• Disgruntled parents
• Scratching relays because one kid doesn't show up
• Cold days at the pool when all the kids are whining at me with their blue lips
• Fixing goggles

I will miss:

• Teaching kids 1-on-1 how to do strokes
• Demonstrating strokes to a bunch of little guys sitting in a row on the pool deck
• The inevitably funny and cute things kids say
• Watching the sun set on the golf course
• Doing the team cheer with my co-coach, and getting to see the excitement on the kids' faces as they cheer
• Watching relays
• Awesome parents
• The swimmers- I've been coaching for 5 years, so I've known many of them for that long!

So today is kind of the end of an era for me. This is the longest job I've ever had and it's been a great one. I've been with this swim team since I was 8, and I can't imagine a summer without it. All that is left is practice today and one very long, very hot swim meet tomorrow.

Weekend Recap

Saturday morning we had our first swim meet of the season. The first meet is always crazy, and let's just say that me and my little guys have lots to talk about today. But overall it was fun. I love watching those little swimmers to their thing. Highlight of the meet? This little 7 year-old girl who has never been on the team before comes up to me after her race beaming and says "That was fun!" So cute!

Saturday night we celebrated one of my friends' birthdays by going out for Mexican and hanging out at her house afterwards. It's always so much fun to get together with my friends from high school. No matter how much time passes we always act the same when we are around each other. I've known most of these girls since elementary school and I just love them.

Yesterday was Fathers Day and we celebrated by having a low-key dinner at home. We gave my dad a new camera (which I think is very exciting) and then afterwards our whole family watched home movies in the basement. It was really fun, except we all discovered how boring it is to watch people open presents, and how most of our home videos are of opening presents. Oh well, there are still some nuggets in there that you wouldn't want to miss!

Have any of you put any of your home videos on DVD? I feel like they would be much more fun to watch with a little bit of editing, but I'm not sure how that works. Just curious!

Happy Monday!

the end of another season

This weekend was devoted solely to the end of the swim season. We had our Championship and All-Star meet on Saturday. It was brutal. Eight hours in 105 degree weather... and I didn't have my bathing suit. To say I was hot would be an understatement. Let's just say it was a miracle that no one passed out.

Sunday was our team party. I always really like the team party, because it brings back a lot of good memories for me. I love giving out the awards and making a really big deal out of the kids' accomplishments. Unfortunately, this is the second year in a row that weather has cut the party short. Last year, we had to make up the awards due to weather. This year, we barely got them in. A storm came in so fast that we had to scatter pretty quickly. It turns out the storm actually did a lot of damage in our area, so we were actually pretty lucky.

The end of swim team is always bittersweet for me. I really love coaching, and I always miss the kids once it's over. I'm not 100% sure that I'll be back next season, but I really hope so.

{me, in my swim team outfit, coercing some kid to touch the wall}

I am excited to go to the beach next week and to hopefully make some real progress in the wedding planning. Eeek!

firsts

Today is the first day of June and also the first day of swim team! Which means it's also the first day of summer, in my book. And boy am I feeling it in our non-air conditioned house.

I LOVE swim season. This is my fourth year coaching and it is such a rewarding and awesome summer job. The weather is looking sketchy so hopefully we will still be on for this afternoon. For now, I'm gonna go eat a kiwi and address my brother's graduation envelopes (because I'm just that nice!)