August 20: A Gift From My Children

Today was the team swim practice. There were a couple of reasons as to why I really wanted to go today. One was that our coach was back in town. She had been gone for two weeks, and though we had attempted an "organized" swim, it just wasn't the same without her there holding us accountable (though I still enjoyed the practices).

The other reason was that I had just received my wet suit this week. Though it seemed to fit really well when I put it on at home, I wanted to try it on in the water just to be sure. After all, I have my first traithlon ever, a sprint distance, coming up this Sunday. That probably wouldn't be a good day to experiment with new gear.

There was one challenge I faced today, however. My husband is out of town, shooting a variety of photographs in Northern Michigan for a client, which leaves me without anyone watching the kids.

I had told my coach I wouldn't make it, but she graciously offered to keep an eye on the kids while I do a few laps in the pool, at least to see how I like the wet suit.

I lured the kids to want to come by offering a kids' favorite bribe, a McDonalds Happy Meal. We picked up the happy meals and went off to the Royal Oak Middle School pool.

The girls ate their happy meal and played with their toys while I was able to take a few laps. They were still playing when I took a few more. Before I knew it, I had swam the assigned 3500 yards, over two miles, and they didn't complain at all.

I probably sound like any other proud parent when I say this, but I'll say it anyways. My kids are awesome and I'm so fortunate that they are so well behaved (even if it's not 100 percent of the time). They know how to behave when it's important, and that is invaluable as a parent.

As a treat, I let them strip down and join me in the pool for a quick dip. They loved it, and I cherished it too, knowing that this would probably be a rare event.

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Comments

Anonymous said…
Great job Andi! If you ever need someone to watch the girls, especially when you're in Royal Oak, Sophia would be happy to do it.
Margaret
August 21, 2007 at 3:08 PM
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