Crazy swim parents

Where am I now? Well, at swim practice of course. I know that doesn't sound unreasonable, because we parents of this generation drag and drive our children to practices nearly every day, even on Sundays, previously a sacred family day. However, to help the reader understand the insanity of this, let me explain some details around tonight's extraordinary craziness:

I live in suburban Washington, D.C., about thirty miles outside of the city, in Virginia. We just got our second largest snowfall in twenty-four hours on record. My neighbors and I measured over thirty inches. It was blizzard conditions, so it may well have been slightly more than that. In addition, to the snow fall, the fore-mentioned blizzard included seventy-mile-an-hour winds. That means those thirty inches of powdery snow created enormous drifts. Drifts larger than me. I am six-two. So, tall.

If anyone has experienced even an inch of snow in Virginia, you know we don't know how to drive, and do not choose to drive, in snow. At all. Ever. So, I do not anticipate going near our school until February. Yet, my husband convinced me to bring Theo to swim practice.

I arrogantly thought, that as a Minnesota-raised girl, I would be the only one brave enough to make it to the insanely scheduled practice. I am pretty sure that the facility also only expected one or two other mentally challenged parents to show up, because they seem to have forgotten to plow eighty percent of the parking lot.

The not-so-plowed parking lot at George Mason University

Yet, when I showed up, I was not the only ridiculous swim-parent to show up. The lot (what was plowed that is) was completely full. I parked my little orange jeep halfway up a pile of snow . I dragged my son and his buddy, both who were less-than-thrilled for practice and exhausted from an entire day spent playing in the snow. The boys talked about how awesome it would be if they were the only two swimmers to show up.

As we walked into the Freedom Center on the George Mason campus, wecould look through the windows into the pool area. All swim lanes were FULL of little swimmers. Did I mention my son is twelve, his buddy eleven. Yep, they are not trying out for the Olympics yet.

Swimmers working out at the Freedom Center at George Mason University post-blizzard 2016

So, yes, we are all crazy parents, making sure our little swimmers get all the practices they can before the big meet this weekend. I promise you, in my old age I will look back at today and laugh at the "silliness of the young."