Wondertwin Powers….Activated!
Okay, my kids are not twins. They are 2.5 years apart, so they can’t even come close to passing for twins. Of course, there is also the glaring difference that Lara is about 5 inches taller than Mason as well. They may not be Wondertwins, but they do have special powers.
This weekend was a split parent weekend. Mason & I headed to Laurel, MS on Friday for a 3 day swim meet. Christine & Lara stayed local and went to a dance competition on Sunday. This was not the first time this has happened, and it will not be the last. But this one was difficult because Saturday was Mason’s 14th birthday. And it is very rare that we are not all together on someones birthday.
Lara had a great weekend at the dance competition. The St. Amant Gatorettes competed at a competition in Lafayette on Sunday, and from what I can gather they kicked ass. First place in Jazz. First place in Hip-hop. Best choreography for Jazz. Best technique for Jazz. Best dance team on the face of the earth…..okay, maybe not. But even with all that, that was not what makes Lara special.
As she was telling me the story of the competition in her rapid fire, very loud (thanks Dad) voice, I noticed that she finally got a sense of what we have always known about her. She can dance! Evidently there were some other teams there that had seen her dance before. And from her story, they are fans of her and the other Gatorettes. One girl told her about watching the video of their dance over and over and freezing the video when Lara does a certain move so she could emulate it. She was surprised and flattered, but what impressed me was that she didn’t get a big head. And that shows her true character.
On the other hand, the boy in the line who gave her the line about never watching dance until he saw her dancing…………. Yeah, right. I guess it was good I was in Laurel. But if she wants to be a LSU Golden Girl, then I need to order a case of baseball bats. Because there will be some stalkers out there waiting with their pickup lines.
Mason had a great weekend as well. After kicking me all night Friday night, we hit the pool on Saturday for his first events. On the schedule for the day were the 200 IM, 100 fly and the 50 free. Because it was his birthday, he really wanted to get a state time in one of the events. And he swam his butt off! Even though he dropped time in all 3 events, he missed the qualifying time in the 100 fly by 1.00 seconds and the 50 free by 1.24 seconds. It was a good day for him, but not everything he wanted. The whole team went and ate Saturday night and sang a very loud “Happy Birthday” to him at the restaurant.
Sunday was a different story…..in both the type of events and the outcome. With the scheduling of events, he had a tough day in store for him. He would start out with the 200 free, have a long break, and then swim the 200 fly and 400 IM pretty much back to back. For those who don’t swim, besides the long events like the 500 yard or mile, the 200 fly and 400 IM are the most grueling. He has done both of them, but never on the same day. Much less that close together. Needless to say that by the time breakfast was over, his nerves were are on red alert.
So I had a chat with him. I told him to just take one at a time. He hadn’t swum the 200 free in a year, so he just had to do the best he could (he dropped 12 seconds.) Then concentrate on the 200 fly. He only needed 5 seconds to make state, and after his 100 fly on Saturday I felt he was ready. We would worry about the 400 IM later. Of course, he decided to worry about the 400 IM then. When I arrived at the pool, I talked with his coach, Billy, and he said he would make Mason a deal. Get a state time in the 200 fly and he would scratch him from the 400 IM. He told Mason, and that pepped him up……a little bit. He still had to hammer the 200 fly or suffer the consequences. He was a bundle of energy when he stepped behind the block for the race. But once he started, he just swam. Not only did he make the state time, but he did so by 4 seconds! And what a smile when he finished!
Both Lara and Mason have always given everything they had to the sport or event of the moment. And once again, they are starting to reap some of the benefits of their hard work.
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One Comment to “Wondertwin Powers….Activated!”
Great job Tim & Christine!
From the little bit i know about you both (what is shared on the blog) there is no doubt they have wonderful role models.
You have given them the tools and confidence to be hard working and humble.
Congrats to Mason and Lara too for a great weekend!
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