The Gators rock the house!

It was a Gator pool Saturday morning.

Okay, maybe we lost the swim meet to the Highland Barracudas, but we had a lot of fun anyway! They made shark bait out of us actually. They are the toughest team in the swim league and took championships last summer. But who cares. The kids swam their little hearts out, as a crowd of parents cheered from the deck. I love the Gators. It is a swim club with heart and not ultra competitive. This is our second year of participating on the Gators. Joining the Gators was like joing a big extended family. Everybody cheers for everyone else and friendships run deep. Last year it took Kyle about five minutes to make it across the pool and he was always the last one to reach the end. The Gators didn't mind. All of them stood up and screamed and yelled and encouraged Kyle as he crept to the finish line. A beaming Kyle exited the pool and all he could say was that he was soooo proud to be soooo popular!

Having moved to California from the midwest five years ago, and with most of our families scattered across the fifty states, we miss having aunts and uncles and cousins nearby. Now my kids have a whole new family. If you aren't aware, the swimming culture is very buddy oriented. My older son who was a little on the shy side, and introverted now flirts with girls and teases them and has become this very confident young person that is not afraid to express himself. In fact, yesterday during the final free-style relay he decided he needed a swim cap to help him cut nonoseconds off his time. He called out to Hannah to throw him her cap...a bright pink cap mind you. He stood tall on the diving block, in this glorious fuscia cap, having the time of his life.

This year my Italian friends Roberta and Paolo and their two sons joined the Gators. In the Gator way, they too are being welcomed into the fold and even had their house tee-peed last night. Roberta and I chat away in Italian as we watch and cheer our kids on. We may not be breaking records, but the kids are having fun and improving their swim times inch my inch, stroke by stroke. So just remember, when the Gators rock the house, they rock it all the way down!