Day 1963 - The swimming carnival continued

So did he sink or swim?

That's him second lane in ... yes, he's winning.

You'll recall my post of yesterday where we "strongly encouraged" our boy to enter a 50 metre race at the school swimming carnival.  You'll also recall I was starting to get nervous for him because he'd never swam 50 metres without stopping before.

So, how did it turn out?



He dived in.

He went out with strength and with speed.

For the first 15 metres he was winning.

By around the 30 metre mark he started to slow just a little bit.

By the 40 metre mark he looked downright tired.

I saw him hesitate.

Was he going to stop?

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming ...

And he did exactly what we knew he could do.

He did it!

He not only did it, but he came third!!

But that's just a bonus.

What he actually got out of the race is the confidence to try things outside his comfort zone and the will to start pushing himself that little bit more.  He got belief in himself.

After the initial shock of his own achievement, combined with dizziness from having pushed his body beyond the norm, he was one "quietly" proud young man.

And this is one "not-so-quietly" proud Deep Fried mum!

Actually, you'll be surprised to learn that I did not go all cheerleader on the sideline and yell and scream to egg him on.  I stood frozen in silence as I silently willed him to the finish line.  My cheerleading was a little more "zen" ...