yay! Yay!! YAY!!!!!

OK- I waited to give you results because I wanted Baba and Dyodyo (grandma and grandpa) to hear first. This was the most incredible sporting event I have ever witnessed live. Our girls did a phenomenal, almost perfect job at the Championships.

Let me give you a run down of the day. First event was the medley relay (each girl does one lap-25 yds-in a different stroke). The fastest seeded times go last, so it was a bit of a wait. But when our girls got on the blocks, right from the start, we were in the lead. Backstroke was first, and our youngest girl of the four got out beautifully. Next is breaststroke. She took over and pulled further ahead. My daughter was third, butterfly. She made the lead longer, and finally the freestyler left everyone eating her bubbles. They won!! First place, 32 points for the dolphins!! I cried! It was such a perfect execution of all 4 strokes, it was stunning. Now there was a bit of a wait for my daughter, but in the meantime one of our girls won the 25 freestyle! 16 points!! Next was my daughter's first individual event, the 50 freestyle. She was seeded second, this isn't her event, she gave it her all and came in second to her teammate in probably less than half a second. (I don't have the official times yet.) So we go 1 and 2 in that event, 16 and 13 points. After a quick wait, my daughter goes up again, this time for the 100 IM- one girl, all 4 strokes. She gets in, her fly is fast, her back is GORGEOUS, breaststroke is strong, and then she finishes with the free and WINS the event!!! FIRST PLACE!!! In my opinion, this is the strongest swimmer as she has to do all four strokes well, three different legal flip turns and not peter out. After a quick wait as there weren't many boys in the IM, she has to do the 25 fly. I was in the stands eating sunflower seeds to keep my nerves at bay. The parents around me were so nice, congratulating me with each event. So, finally she's up, "swimmers take your mark....BOOP!" and she's off, she's in the lead, she's making her own wave, and she WINS THE 25 FLY!!! MY GOD- could I have asked for anything more???? Now, each heat winner gets a little ribbon and a water bottle right there, immediately after the race. Since there are SO many kids swimming, they figure it's nice to recognize more than just the top 6 with a medal and 7 thru 12 with a ribbon. What I didn't realize is that even the first place finishers get the little ribbon and water bottle as well! So, we've got THREE so far, with the last relay still to go. WHEW- I'm exhausted just writing this! Now we had the 25 back and 25 breast with about 14 heats each, boys and girls, to go. LONG wait. We went 1 and 2 in the back and I think we got a fourth in the breast. So now, it's almost the end, with the freestyle relay. Four girls, all swim one lap in freestyle. My daughter is first, BOOP!- she's off the block and out to a lead. #2 is next, and she shoots out like a rocket. #3 is the one who won the 25 free, and she's cruising, half a lap ahead of the rest. The last girl (won the 50 free) gives us almost a full lap lead and the WIN!!!!!! ASTOUNDING!! Another water bottle and ribbon, 32 points, hysteria abounding!! I started screaming- "THAT'S HOW YOU SWIM!!! THAT'S HOW YOU SWIM!!!!" It could not have turned out any better.

I know that I was making myself sick over this, but I never take anything for granted. I never assume anything either. We were all seeded high, but anything can happen on any given day. I'm glad I was "wrong" to worry. But that's what I do, because I care and love my daughter and those other girls too and I wanted them to be rewarded for their hard work and dedication. So there. I just have to make sure I wear the same underwear, nail polish, black sweater, pack the same stuff in the bag, eat the same seeds, all over again for when we go to Harvard!! ;)