Summer Break? What Sumer Break?

Many families start swimming as a healthy sport for the kids to get them in shape. It's also one of those few sports where the athletes are known for their intelligence with one of the highest GPAs of any sport. Finally, families think it will be a cheap sport with little equipment. Ahem.

After kids start to show promise, private lessons at $70 an hour come. Hundred of dollars are spent monthly on training fees, pool fees, practice and competition suits, lost goggles, silicone caps at $15 a pop, specialized back packs, mesh bags, fins, snorkel, front snorkel, buoy, swim parka, and the list goes on. Let's not forget $40 a swimmer for the meets 2-3 times a month. It adds up.

I don't begrudge the money because this is a life sport. But, the time spent is killing me. Eldest has three different practices with 6 hours of swim practice coupled with a three hour meet today alone--and we usually have a private lesson thrown in as well. Today for instance, my schedule:

• 7:00 wake up all kids, eat breakfast, and pack lunch/snacks/water bottles as quickly as possible
• 7:20 Leave for Bellevue for rec. practice for Eldest
• 7:45-8:45 Rec practice
• 8:45 Leave to Mercer Island for year-round USA practice; leave Eldest there for 2 hr. practice
• 9:00 Return to Bellevue for PB and Li'l Man's rec. practice
• 10:15 Leave for Mercer Island to drop off PB for USA practice
• 11:00 Return to Beelvue; Lil Man's swim practice ends
• 11:00 Leave for Issaquah to pick up carpool
• 11:30 Return to Mercer Island to pick up PB & Eldest
• 11:45 Leave for special swim clinic in Des Moines for Eldest
• 1:15 Return to Sammamish (usually I stay in Des Moines until 3:30 but we lucked out & found a rare car pool)
• 1:15-3:30 Finally home: a little over two hours to eat lunch and prep for meet at home
• 4:00 Return to rec pool for rec swim meet
• 8:30 Return home to Sammamish

Let's repeat this for the last week and continue most of it through the summer, and it's really draining me. I'm exhausted from the driving. The house is a disaster, as is the yard. Laundry has piled up. Even on weekends without USA meets, I lately have been too tired to do household chores. I'm sure this is the story of every sports mom. I think every Olympic hopefully has a committed and exhausted mother behind them.

It's also starting to work on my Eldest. He enjoys swimming and meets, but hates how much of his time is consumed with practice. In the summer, it's not too bad. However, it's a challenge most of the school year with practices requiring a 4:50 AM wake up, followed the next day by practices that go until 7:30 PM. Getting homework done takes the rest of his free time and is usually done during the commute.

Did I mention that Eldest starts middle school in the fall and want to do some rec. soccer? I don't know where he and I will find the time. He also wants to do some tennis and join the water polo team after rec. swim ends this month. Did I mention we have been attending a few water polo clinics in the evening from 8-9 PM? It's crazy!

I know, I know, this is a path we have chosen and, don't get me wrong, it has it's rewards. My Eldest swims with the 13 & overs and more than keeps up even though he is ten. He swims way faster than most of his peers from his school. His technique is improving and he is incredibly fit. His grades are excellent with almost exclusively fours on a 1-4 scale. He reads alot in the car and has finished four 200+ page books in the 10 days since school has been out.

I guess I just need to say I am tired. I need to do more than sit at practice after practice and drive hour after hour. I'm wondering how other sports moms do it? How do you find the balance? How do you keep from going insane? Putting on 10 lbs. sitting at hour upon hour of meets and practices each month? Keep your house clean and yard from being a ghetto jungle of weeds and dog poo? How do you find a healthy balance of giving your child(ren) every opportunity to be the best at their sport and doing right by yourself and the rest of the family? Remember that song from Karate Kid? You know the one! Something like, "you're the best, ohhh-yaaaa--nothings ever going to keep you down...I can't give up...you're the best in time." I looked for the video today to psyche me out:

So the video wasn't so inspiring as I remember. Get back to me will you? I only have about 1 spare hour left and so very much to do and all I can think about right now are my droopy eyelids and a nap...

'lisciously scribed by Scout's Honor @ 2:02 PM