First Swim Meet

Little One had her first swim meet today. The facility we went to was also hosting a basketball tournament, and they won the lottery to have the bleachers, so we were advised to bring our own chairs. I also knew to pack a cooler full of food and drinks. Swimmers get hungry!!

I regret to say that in the process of packing, cooking breakfast, etc, I forgot the camera, so I do not have pictures to post. Ok, she was in a blue swimsuit, blue swim cap, and she was wet. Can you visualize it?

Because it was her first meet, we had realistic goals. 1) To finish her events. 2) To not get disqualified on all her events (getting dq'ed on a few would be fine; and is very normal.) 3) To make it through the day with no tears. (Did not verbalize this goal with her but it was there, just the same.)

1.) She finished all her events. She was signed up for a 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, and 50m butterfly. She also got pulled for two relay races. In both relays, her team came in first, which means the "new kid" did not hold them back.
2.) Jury is still out on the dq's. We did not hear for sure but we believe she may have been dq'ed in one of her events. Will post this later in the week when we find out for sure.
3.) She did not cry; was happy all day. When we woke up this morning, I asked, "Is there anything you need today?" (meaning -- pack more conditioner for my hair, etc) and she said, "I need not to get disqualified today!" So clearly she was a little apprehensive. Understandable. After her first event, she cheered up and had a fun day with her friends. However, old Nana did cry.
She was right behind the starting block before her first event. I thought, "If I can just make eye contact with her, she'll be fine. I just need to connect with her." From my location all the way across the pool, I was looking for her. At the same time, she was looking for me, and we found each other at the same moment. Our eyes connected, and I threw her an "ILY" in sign language and she shot one back to me. Then she mounted the starting block and took her mark. Wow-I cried. I was so thankful for the connection -- thankful we had that nanosecond before her start.
Her day was so good that, when we got in the car after it was all over, she actually forgot she doesn't like swim team, that we made her join, that she doesn't want to do it, and she bubbled over, "Wow! That was so much fun!!"

So, all in all, she met or exceeded her goals for the day. And now, The Dreaded First Meet is officially ........behind us.