Our Smiling Swimmer

To say that Griffin is thrilled to be on swim team would be an understatement. He is beyond thrilled. He is ecstatic that he is finally, in his eyes, rolling with the cool crowd, sporting speedos with goggles on his head. (Although last year before he was even on swim team, he was known to pretend he was on swim team by wearing his brother's hand me down speedos and yes, wearing his goggles on his head. He's a quick study that kid.)

Griffin competes in the heat we like to call the "controlled drowning" heat. It is the smallest and the cutest swimmers of them all, struggling not to win the race across the pool, but merely to survive all 25 yards of pool stretched out before them. The parents tend to cheer the loudest for this heat, even for the kids who are not their own, because these little swimmers show such spirit and tenacity, determined to make it through their length of the pool, even if they have to resort to doggie paddle to do it.

I love to see Griffin battle to finish his swim. He grunts through backstroke, struggling to lift his little arms up in the air, so he can keep going, oh so very slowly, down the pool. The pool cheers him on, telling him he can do it, as I always, inevitable race beside him on the side of the pool yelling words of encouragement. (Loudly. Very loudly. Aidan has reminded me repeatedly that I am so loud he can hear me cheering even when he is under water.)

Griffin also competes in a relay and a 25 yard freestyle. Tonight, after he did his faux dive, but really just a giant jump into the pool off the blocks and got started on his freestyle, the parents got their cheer on. Griffin must have heard me above the din of yelling voices, because he stopped his freestyle, looked up right at me and grinned the biggest, sweetest smile a mother ever could see.

My entire side of the pool erupted into gales of laughter. His coach howled with laughter and yelled, "Don't look at your mother! Swim! Swim!" Griffin grinned again and got back to his stroke.

The coach shook her head and said to me, "He is too cute for words." He is too cute for words, that sweet third boy of mine. My love of a little boy.