Weekend Wrap Up: Splashing, Dashing, and Father's Day

When Tink showed interest in competing in a triathlon hosted at our swim club, I went online to register her for the Kids Splash and Dash.  Then, I saw the date and called Dr. Fabulous first.  

"Honey, it's on Father's Day morning.  That means we're getting up at 6:30 am and spending our morning at this race..."  I trailed off because I felt bad.  It was Father's Day after all. I couldn't blame a dude for wanting to sleep in (not that he ever does), play golf and chill. 

"Sign her up," he said enthusiastically.  "I can't think of a better way to spend Father's Day."

For him, Father's Day is about being a Father and spending time with family. 

(This is quite the opposite of my take on Mother's Day which is about getting away from my family for a little "me" time. ) 

So, after two weeks of daily swim team practice and time trials at 7:30 am the morning before, this little peanut woke up early Sunday morning with her game face on. 

Actually, she had no game face. She was nervous.  

"I don't want to go... I'm so tired," she said meekly, laying under her covers.  

"You know what I think? I think you're nervous. And that's okay," I told her. "It's totally normal to be nervous and when you're nervous, you feel like you don't want to do it.  But I think you'll regret it if you don't go. If you let your fears stop you, you'll stop yourself from having so many great experiences in life.  I think this will be one of them."

I blathered more and more of a pep talk and it seemed to work. 

Or, she just wanted me to shut up. 

The night prior she had asked me "What if I come in first?"

I said "I'll be incredibly proud of you."

Her eyes got big and serious and she asked "But, what if I come in last?"

I said "I'll be incredibly proud of you."

Then, she went through a handful of places that she could come in... twelfth, fifty-third, second, and so on. My answer stayed the same.

"Just stepping up and doing it. Finishing what you started - that makes you a winner.  The only way you can lose is if you never try," I reminded her. 

She liked that answer.

"And just remember, no matter how slow you go? You're always lapping the person sitting on the couch." 

But, she didn't go slow.  She was steady and solid swimming the 5 laps...

... then she rocked a short transition time (drying off, putting on shorts and sneakers, hydrating) 

...and started on the one mile run. 

 She apparently had to stop twice to tie her shoe but kept a nice pace and kicked it down the home stretch to the cheers of her family and friends. 

There were almost 60 young competitors in this particular kids race, ranging in age from 6 to 14. The large majority were older than her. Yet, Tink held her own, especially with this being her first race and her being a new swimmer. The three impressive girls who won were between 11-13 years old (Yes, the first three overall were female, the first place boy came in fourth place overall!).  

We were super proud of her, but the most important thing was that she was proud of herself. She did it for her, not us. 

Here she is all like "I'm so tired... Oh, my gosh, I'm gonna die."

Here she is all like "I don't think that was very fun. I need to take a 2 year break before I do another one..."

But shortly after she's all like "Yeah, I'll do another one. That was cool."

The whole event was super fun. We saw tons of friends and community members doing either the triathlon, duathlon or splash and dash (adult and kid version). I knew all three lovely ladies who took first, second and third place female in the triathlon event. It was an awesome way to spend the morning.  

In the afternoon, we dialed it down and had a family cook-out at my in-laws. The cousins played and swam, and the grown-ups grilled and ate. 

We did a little birthday celebration for CB and Dr. Fabulous.

Years and years ago, before the other girls came along, it was just the three of us - me, CB and Dr. Fab.

Here's the thing about Dr. Fabulous. While we were engaged, he bought us a minivan. He knew it would be filled almost to capacity within a few short years... and it was.  

He's a family man. It all begins and ends with family. 

Man, I love these guys.