Glen Oaks Time Trials

We headed up the the pool for the last chance to qualify. I would like to stop here just a moment and say thank you to my lovely little girls who have been troopers through all this swim team stuff this summer...and a huge thank you to my mom who has helped out so much so they didn't have to go to everything. Thank you ...thank you...thank you.

 Rolls gave his best effort to qualify for freestyle but just didn't make it. God love him...he tried so hard. We are so proud of him! This little guy would not go under the water at the beginning of last summer...and now he is on the swim team competing in 3 different strokes. But still... tonight he was disappointed and I hated that for him....

 Riggs tried for backstroke...but he didn't qualify either. He was already qualified in breast, freestyle and butterfly..... You could try for 2 events so just for fun the Coaches suggested that Riggs and Colin try to qualify for the IM ...doing all for strokes in one event. They had never done it...never swam that far...they didn't even know the order in which to swim the strokes in..after Riggs being disappointed with the back stroke...I was thinking this was not a good idea....there was no possible way he could do this...and for sure no way he would qualify...but Riggs and Colin were all about it...and wanted to give it a try!

 I was a timer so I could not take pictures until the end...but this is what happened. The time needed to be 2:12 to qualify...so this is Riggs finishing and saying to me...what was my time? My reply was 2:11. Colin's was 2:13. Riggs had attempted the IM for the first time and qualified for it with his time. He was beyond happy...and I was astonished. But....the story does't end here...it never does with my Riggs.

 Our celebration came to a rapid end as the judge handed over a white sheet...she had seen one tiny flutter kick in his breast stroke and disqualified him. He turned away and couldn't look at anyone for quite a while.

I was so proud of him! I was amazed that he cold even swim that far....do all four strokes and do it in the time to qualify. He just learned the strokes 6 weeks ago...but in that moment he was just so full of disappointment my words just bounced off of him..he said I was DQ'd...that that means everything I just gave...and did...doesn't count...true words he had to process on his own for a while before Moma could help smooth them over...it's so hard to watch them face disappointment...and it even hard to let them try to deal with it on their own..but that is what he needed in that moment.