I must update

Bravie told me to, so here I am. (Ok, I actually have some time tonight, before SYTYCD comes on anyway)

So last weekend was completely exhausting! Devon had his state championship meet (13 yr & over) from Thursday through Sunday. While the pool is indoors, it is very hot, due to no circulation. So we spent as much time as we could outside. We had brought our screen tent, as did another family from our team, so we set up a Team Area. It was a great place for parents and kids to hang out all weekend. It was really hot outside as well, but there was at least some breeze throughout the weekend.

Devon started off the meet swimming 800m Freestyle, followed by the 4x200m Freestyle relay. He got 8th place in his individual event, which earned him a medal (1st-8th get medals, 9-16th get ribbons)!!! He was so excited! Then his relay team came in 2nd! Whoooo Hoooo! What a way to start the meet.

Friday he swam the 200m Free, and was supposed to swim 3 relays, two in his age group (13-14) and 1 with the Seniors! After a bunch of rearranging, he swam 1 with his age group, then 2 with the seniors, and they we had to come back for finals for him to swim the other with his age group. Crazy! He didn't place in his individual, but did get a couple of ribbons in the relays (1-3rd get medals, 4-16th get ribbons), and ended in 20th place in the individual event.

Saturday found him swimming the 400m Free, which is his favorite race. He did well, no ribbon, but a good 20th place again. Then after a 6 hour break where we went home, came back and swam in the 4x100 medley relay. He swam the breaststroke leg. Funny, cause he has never before swam a 100m breastroke. The big difference between meters and yards is the pool is 50m vs 25 yards, so there is less turning. He was worried about the race, but swam it very respectfully, and helped to earn his team a 7th place ribbon!

Sunday was our last day, and we got to sleep in! Devon's individual event was later in the morning, or rather early in the afternoon. 1500m Freestyle, affectionately called "The Mile"! Yes, 19 minutes of non stop swimming! For Devon, 19:03.76 to be exact! He dropped 45 seconds from the last time he swam this, which was 1 month earlier! His race earned him his 3rd medal, also for 8th place!

He exceeded his own expectations and goals for every swim, and the meet in general. I am so very proud of him! Now he gets 3 weeks off, and we start all over on Aug 25, culminating in the short course (25 yard) State Meet the first week in March.

My dad was visiting us for 15 days, which was long enough to see both kids' state meets, and he now has a really good understanding of what it is like to be a swim parent. LOL, of course he got the best of the season, not the drudgery of day in and day out schlepping to practice, but I'm glad he enjoyed it.

On the other important family note, Don is doing really well with his recovery. He is following a good personal program, and seems to be making some changes for the better. His traffic issue is still outstanding, next court date mid Sept. He was granted a leave of absence from work (read suspended) for the month of July, which hurt us financially, but we'll recover. He is back to work this week. He is going to look for another job anyway, as we both feel the situation needs to change.

Ok, enough updating, I need to get back to reading HD's book.