Once upon a time, we were crazy swim parents. Yes, those kind of parents.
I read an article in the WSJ yesterday that brought fond memories of those days.
It was called “A Tribute to the Inane Dramas of Sideline Parents: Who would have thought I’d miss all that groaning, whining and anguish?” by Joe Queenan.
Here’s an excerpt:
One of the worst things about watching your kids grow up is that you no longer get to witness the uniquely idiotic, yet oddly entertaining, behavior of parents at kids’ ballgames.
When my daughter started playing league soccer at age 6, parents would go out of their way to film every minute of every game. That first year, her team went winless and scoreless until the final game of the season. Decades later, the kids’ aging parents can pull those old videos down off the shelf and regale their progeny with untold hours of lovingly documented footage of utterly unproductive prepubescent athletic activity. Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad!
I actually miss this inanity. As a connoisseur of boorishness, I miss the anguished complaints about muffed offsides calls, the moaning and groaning about alleged handballs in front of the goal, the conspiratorial suggestions that the referee is blind.
https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/a-tribute-to-the-inane-dramas-of-sideline-parents-126b54ee
Although I don’t miss riding the roller coaster of being a crazy swim parent — or watching parents who were downright abusive — I do miss six things about going to swim meets.
ONE
Spending time together. When you’re away for a few days with your swimmer, you have a captive audience. There’s no distraction of eight hours at school, followed by three hours of swim practice, or them hanging out with their non-swim friends. Spending lots of time together, unfettered with household, work, and daily school responsibilities is refreshing. I enjoyed our little bubble of time and treated it like a mini-vacation. We played cards, sang songs, hung out at the beach, and had fun!
Nap time. When our swimmers were older and had meets with prelims and finals, we found ourselves in the hotel — with our kids — for three to four hours in the middle of the day. They needed to be off their feet and resting. So I’d bring in lunch, relax, and enjoyed the best naps!
Walking. Being at a meet for days on end, without cooking, cleaning, working, etc. allowed plenty of time to walk. I walked during warm-ups and warm-downs. I walked with my husband, with friends, and by myself. I looked forward to checking out the areas by the pools on foot. Walking got rid of my nervous energy and walking for hours and miles had to be good for me!
FOUR
Friendships. I spent lots of hours with team parents under the pop-up tent. Mostly, swim parents are generous, encouraging and have the common interest of their team and kids’ successes at heart. I made great friends with parents from other teams — as well as swim officials. I looked forward to seeing them at meets. I remember conversations with parents when our kids were leaving for college. We shared our excitement plus our anxieties of being empty nesters. We lived in separate towns with kids on separate teams, yet had so much in common.
FIVE
Watching your swimmer race. What is it about watching your child race that is so rewarding and exciting? I’m not sure, but if you have the answer, please let me know. It was so exciting when they did well. I loved that feeling when I watched their hard work pay off and observed their growth as a person and athlete. It crushed me when goals were missed by mere tenths of seconds and our kids were disappointed.
Sushi. We ate lots of sushi at swim meets. I scouted for the best sushi restaurants near pools throughout Southern California. My daughter liked to eat sushi at meets, too. It’s healthy, light, provides her with the right fuel to race. We didn’t have a sushi restaurant at home that I liked, so sushi was a treat.
Looking back at your kids’ childhood, what do you miss?
I don’t think I miss much about my kid’s childhood as those were very hectic times. I’m glad they are all grown up and raising their kids now.
I wish I had grandkids now to enjoy.
One day you will. 💕😍
I hope so! 😊
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It is fun to look back on those times EA. I was a three kid band parent, a Girl Scout leader for years, a shorter time sports parent as kids tried and moved on with sports but did have a Fast pitch daughter stick with the sport up to high school level, and so much involvement with PTA and school activities. I often felt like I was living vicariously through my kids, doing things that I never had the opportunity to do when I was young. It felt like a privilege to take part with them so for many years I did miss all of it but now I get to have all the memories.
I agree with you one hundred percent. I was living vicariously through my kids. I didn’t do many activities growing up and my parents weren’t involved at all. Whew, that sounds busy but fun!
It was fun and an important aspect of my life when they were young. I loved having the opportunity to be involved in their world and I think they appreciated it most of the time 😉
I’m sure they did 💕
I miss the snuggles and reading to them before bed. So glad I took the time to do that, fond memories to look back on. Sounds like you have wonderful memories to look back on as well. Times of no distractions, just time together. I get that!
Those snuggles were the best! I do have wonderful memories, too.
❤️
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What I don’t miss? Crazy parents, that’s for sure! But your reminder about the bliss of naptime? Oh…that was such a glorious time period. A reprieve for everyone. Thanks so much, Elizabeth! (And the pic of your two? Absolutely adorable!) 🥰
Thank you! I miss those days, but also enjoy my peace and quiet now. Nap times with kids were the best.
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Being together, spending time, eating well – so good! I love this post as it captures so much richness about parenting and life!
Thank you, Wynne. I loved those days. I can’t believe how quickly they disappeared.
Right! Kids change so fast!
Yes, look at how grown up your daughter looks now!
I like that you can look back at that hectic period of your lives and find heartwarming takeaways.
I loved those years. I think because I didn’t have great childhoods, and neither did my husband, we gave it our all 😊
That’s so great that you could get past less-than-ideal childhoods to become such great parents!
😊
I miss the fact that when they are little, their problems are small. As they grow, so does the scope of what they face
Absolutely. I have a friend with four kids much older than mine, who told me that when mine were young.
I’m childfree. However, what I miss about my friends and their younger children is the hilarious stories about what their kids did wrong out of innocence, not maliciously. Some of the best laughs ever.
Yes. Kids can do and say the funniest things. Remember Art Linkletter?
What a cute photo, Elizabeth, and I loved your list too. The sushi made me smile. I have great memories of when our kids were young, but I don’t think I miss those times because I love spending time with them as adults and them being able to care for themselves. I do remember busy schedules with basketball, girl scouts, boy scouts, and choir. Maybe someday we’ll have grandkids, but that’s not even the bottom line for us. We just want our kids (now 32 & 29) to be happy, healthy, and safe. Love this post! I’ll be taking a blogging break, so I’ll see you in a couple of weeks or so. 🥰
Thanks for commenting. My kids are 28 and 31. I don’t get to spend much time with them now because they’re in Berkeley and I’m in Scottsdale. I wish I did! Have a nice break.
Mine don’t live close either, but the time we have with them, we cherish. So, I hear you!
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