An Ode to Swim Moms- It’s All Worth It

I need to admit something… Sometimes it’s hard being my girl’s mom. The eye rolling, her constant need to be right, her over-preparedness, her own ambition. The driving. I mean the driving alone! Six days a week to swim practice, which I know couldn’t do without a husband, grandparents, nieces, and siblings. Back and forth to town at least twice a day. Waking up early for swim meets almost every weekend. Driving her, again, hours away to attend meets. My body hurting from sitting on the concrete, my weekend gone with no rest. Mostly though, it’s difficult watching her be so hard on herself because of her constant drive for perfection. That perfection you spot in most swimmers. Watching her eyes well up with tears because she missed the state qualifying time by 1/10 of a second in one race. Knowing that she is disregarding the fact that just thirty minutes before she crushed a race with three whole seconds under the state time, but understanding that’s still not good enough for her.

But then something happens like this weekend. Her very first race of the season, a 200IM. She was so nervous. She stood up on that block and I could see her shaking. The start sounds and she dives in… And she swam faster than I have ever seen her. She was confident, relaxed and she made it look easy. Until finally she touched the wall, looked up at the timer and saw that she was under the state time by 5 1/2 seconds (5 1/2 SECONDS!!). And she smiled so big, slapped the water, and looked straight at me. Without saying a word, we both knew… it’s all worth it.

Because in that moment and throughout the rest of the weekend, she learned things that she could never get from a book. Things that I could never teach her. She learned all the hard work she puts in, is worth it. The two to three times a week she runs a couple of miles, then cross trains, all before a two hour swim practice. The staying up late after everyone else is in bed to finish her homework, because it is the only time she is actually at home. The always eating dinner in the car. The social events she has to miss because of swim meets or practice. Her body hurting, her lungs on fire, all because she only took one breathe in her 50 freestyle race (ONE BREATH!!). She learned, it’s all worth it. Because hard work really does pay off. HER hard work paid off. She learned that being part of a team that supports you, is something not everyone has and should be cherished. Watching these girls, on her team, cheering for everyone, in every race, is unbelievable and so uplifting to witness as a parent. She learned to push herself until it hurts and then push some more. Because if you do, you might actually do better than you ever thought you would.
And isn’t that all we really want to teach our kids? To work hard? To find passion? To find good people and stick with them? To love life?

Yes it’s true… Sometimes it’s hard being my girls mom. But when she finishes her 100 breast stroke, looks at her time, turns to find me in the crowd, flashes me a huge smile and a thumbs up, then runs to me from the pool, puts her hands on my face and says ‘I did it!!’…… I know everything is worth it. It’s all worth being my girls swim mom.

Kristie Greenwood is a proud mom of four children. Which makes her a soccer mom, a cross country mom, a music mom, and a swim mom. With a full time career, part- time host of a local radio show, Everyday Cooking, in Portland, Oregon, swim team board member, wife and personal chauffeur to her children, her life is quite busy, but she finds her heart is most happy watching her children excel and living this crazy busy, but full life with her husband.