Okay, the "Discussion" page seems to have disappeared with the new format.
Something that made me really happy in HS was swimming. I realized that because at work today we were talking about how some of us were forced to care for younger siblings as we grew up. I had swum on the AAU team for one season and really loved it and did well (I think). My parents hated it because it was expensive and about all I could depend on them for was a little funding and maybe a ride every now and then. I don't think they came to ONE meet. The next year my sister was born. That gave them the excuse to keep me from swimming competitively anymore. Because they worked in factories and their shifts started before the daycare opened all my 8th and 9th grade years when we were at Klondike I had to wake up, get a baby ready and walk her to daycare before I could get on the bus - no kidding. We moved from the Klondike area between 9th and 10th grade so my parents had to make different child care arrangements for Heather. I still didn't swim in 10th grade because girls' swim season was in the fall and I missed the beginning - which was really before school started. My junior year, however, I was able to join the team. It was a little funny, because none of my really close friends were into sports. I really did like getting to know a bigger circle of girls better, though and enjoyed being part of a team. I felt fat and slow most of the time because I compared myself to the other team members and I realize now that it was a really bad comparison. For example, Danielle Rihn and I had started swimming AAU the same season and I had been faster then she was. When I finally got to start swimming again I was upset because now Danielle was one of the fast swimmers and I was one of the slow rejects in the slow lane at practice. Now, however, I realize Danielle didn't have to take time off to be a "Mom" to her younger siblings (although I do realize she also had family responsibilities to fulfill - I'm not dismissing that). My parents still didn't really support me. I remember that when we had pre-season training I would have to ride my bike to school, do the workouts and then ride back home. During the season I usually had to get a ride to every morning practice or home from every meet. My parents also complained about any little bit of money they had to spend - I know we were not rich, and I know it was expensive, but I was not allowed to get a job either, except for babysitting, which at the time paid like seventy-five cents an hour!
Something that made me really happy in HS was swimming. I realized that because at work today we were talking about how some of us were forced to care for younger siblings as we grew up. I had swum on the AAU team for one season and really loved it and did well (I think). My parents hated it because it was expensive and about all I could depend on them for was a little funding and maybe a ride every now and then. I don't think they came to ONE meet. The next year my sister was born. That gave them the excuse to keep me from swimming competitively anymore. Because they worked in factories and their shifts started before the daycare opened all my 8th and 9th grade years when we were at Klondike I had to wake up, get a baby ready and walk her to daycare before I could get on the bus - no kidding. We moved from the Klondike area between 9th and 10th grade so my parents had to make different child care arrangements for Heather. I still didn't swim in 10th grade because girls' swim season was in the fall and I missed the beginning - which was really before school started. My junior year, however, I was able to join the team. It was a little funny, because none of my really close friends were into sports. I really did like getting to know a bigger circle of girls better, though and enjoyed being part of a team. I felt fat and slow most of the time because I compared myself to the other team members and I realize now that it was a really bad comparison. For example, Danielle Rihn and I had started swimming AAU the same season and I had been faster then she was. When I finally got to start swimming again I was upset because now Danielle was one of the fast swimmers and I was one of the slow rejects in the slow lane at practice. Now, however, I realize Danielle didn't have to take time off to be a "Mom" to her younger siblings (although I do realize she also had family responsibilities to fulfill - I'm not dismissing that). My parents still didn't really support me. I remember that when we had pre-season training I would have to ride my bike to school, do the workouts and then ride back home. During the season I usually had to get a ride to every morning practice or home from every meet. My parents also complained about any little bit of money they had to spend - I know we were not rich, and I know it was expensive, but I was not allowed to get a job either, except for babysitting, which at the time paid like seventy-five cents an hour!
Damn thing - I tried to make a paragraph! Argh! - So anyway, I still didn't really get much parental support. I don't think they ever came to one meet except I think I remember that one meet ran long for some reason and my dad just HAPPENED to be coming to get me to take home that night and he saw part of a meet, but I still don't think he saw me swim. I love swimming. I think I learned to swim when I was two - seriously - and have loved it ever since. When I go swim now I feel so at home - like the water is where I belong. Even though I am fat and sick and injured it is one place where I feel good. I am trying hard to NOT compare my speed to that of a thirty year younger and how many pounds lesser self, but just enjoy being back where I love and doing something that makes me feel good and is actually good for me. This may not really be my BEST memory from HS, but it is one I think of often now as I swim to try to regain my general health and rehabilitate my knee. Thank goodness for the couple of years I WAS able to have good coaches and learn good form and also for the friendships... I was not one of the cool "Swimming babes" in many ways, but these days I feel like I am a super-cool "Swimming Mama."
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