ncaa's...final thoughts

this has been an amazing spring break


many girls arrived in Austin with dreams of swimming personal bests and for some a chance to finish in the top 16. our girl had such joy at just being selected to participate we knew to wish for more seemed greedy....but secretly i think we all were dreaming.
so here are my final thoughts in highs and lows..and the lows are not necessarily lows..but maybe just a contrast to the high...because nothing about the past 5 days could be described as low...except maybe getting a boot on the car Friday night.



high.....a 2nd place finish for Dominique (good luck at your Canadian nationals) and another teammate Lauren finished 14 (good luck to you at Canadian nationals as well)
low....the gator parents kept blocking my view of your races
high......a couple of swimmer sisters swam with heart and soul
low...their brother watched from heaven instead of the stands
high....lots of UT ex swimmers sat laughing and joking for 3 days
low....a certain UT ex still rummages though the crowds looking for someone who recognizes him
high...OPI SanTan Tonio polish
low....i had to give it to the girl who requested it (initials c.c.)
high...i spoke to a stranger (s)
low....it was UT event staff people who actually spoke first and asked me if i needed help finding my seat and if not move out of the entrance. i was polite.
high....no traffic on the weekends
low....MLK is a death trap to cross on foot no matter when you try
high....love love love watching swimmers have fun
low....it was hard to view our swimmer because the place was so full
high....our girl had a fabuloso 200 back and a new best time winning her heat
low...the 100 back doesn't get a do over today like at Big XII.
high....dinner with the team last night
low...dinner didn't start until 9:30
high....my binoculars (really they are rc's)
low....people made fun of me for using them (13 year old girls are lame and would make fun of string)
high...the coaches are nice and tried speaking to us at dinner
low....i have the conversational skills of a log
high...i completely understand diving
low...no splash= good/lots of splash= bad
high...the coach who insisted she wear a helmet when swimmer girl goes skiing
low...she thinks it will look uncool....blood and brains on snow are not cool either
high...rc discovered angry birds on my evo
low...rc discovered angry birds on my evo
high....i wasn't overwhelmed by tiger people
low...i was surrounded and overwhelmed by bulldogs and gators and wildcats
high...bulldog cheer
low...they did it often woof woof woof
high.....there is fashion on the pool deck
low....we need to up our game next year
high.....our girl is on it
low....she's not subtle
high....our entire family at lunch, outside at the hotel
low....nothing low about that one
high....i've done zero housework, laundry, school prep for an entire week
low....see above
high...someone mowed the yard
low...i hope it was the people who i paid to mow it last year and not a neighbor who is fanatical about nice grass.
high....the yard looks nice
low...they forgot the back (they came unannounced...and the gate is kept locked)
high....doggies happy to see me
low....doggies won't sleep because of extreme happiness

and now for the numbers (my numbers are approx.)

NCAA women's DI swim teams = approx. 180
NCAA teams represented this weekend = 45? and seriously i just counted and forgot what I counted

lowest number of swimmers to attend by a school 1(several
highest number of swimmers to attend by a school 15 (A&M)

more rough approximations....
Invited swimmers to the championships = 281
D1 women swimmers = over 2000

her numbers
50 free entered 58/66 finished 36/66 new best time
100 back entered 23/61 finished 23/61
200 back entered 48/53 finished 31/53 new best time


these numbers matter only because it shows how special it was to attend this meet. i saw many families and swimmers unhappy with times, swims, coaches. perspective helps put things in place.
i don't understand how racing minds work....but i do understand how mine does.
this whole week was a gift to us all. thank you ncaa's, missouri swimming and diving, Mary and Andy, Ryan and Kristin, Kimmy, Brownie Boy, Kelly, Sherrill, every one's kind FB words, and most of all Rory,  Cassie and Aubrey. I think the future holds more fun for all of us.
and now...my new favorite you tube clip: