Sunday, October 30, 2011

It's been while...

You may be wondering, “What happened to that sweet little swim wife with the blog?” Well, I’m still here. I’ve just been trying to keep my head above water (no pun intended… what am I saying? Of course the pun was intended) juggling family, work, the hubs (our everyday Olympian) and the rest of life. But, neglect you no more. I am back and determined to exert Olympic-sized effort to the blog over the next 10 months (this will get us through the Games).

Without the time or patience to recap the last two months (don’t worry, you haven’t missed much) I will merely pick up as if you are caught up. Got it?

Do you want to know why the resurgence in consideration for the blog? Last week at work, remember that I am a PhD student, we interviewed a candidate for a faculty position. You’re thinking, “Where is she going with this…” Stick with me. While I was sitting in the interview I could hardly maintain professionalism because I was so distracted by the striking resemblance between the candidate and Michael (need I even use a last name?). I swear… picture Michael (Phelps, for those of you who couldn’t/didn’t catch on), plus 15-20 years, plus a suit (the other kind), plus a powerpoint presentation, plus a lot of big words. And then I remembered that I hadn’t posted in a while. A long while.

So here I am and this is where we are heading. Olympic trials is 8 months away (almost to the day). Mark has a running countdown in months, weeks, days, hours, and minutes to the U.S. team trials and the Olympic Games on his computer at home. This countdown gives me such anxiety that I cannot use his computer any more. I guess this sort of thing gets him going. I, on the other hand, am in total shock and denial that both events are right around the corner.

What are we doing as the months, weeks, days, hours, and minutes tick us closer and closer to these milestones?

Mark is traveling less (a lot less) and trying to focus on training. Not sure if you care about this snippet, but he is working really hard in the weight room. I can tell by how tight his pants are. His pants are tight for a different reason than why my pants are tight. His legs and butt are getting big (again, a different kind of big). I think he sees this as a good thing.

I am trying to coordinate my work schedule (as in my work schedule for the rest of the next 8 months) in order to be available for a full month next summer to be fully invested as a swim wife.

I am arranging tentative plans for next summer’s potential travel. Think it sounds easy… I dare you to find a refundable boarding option in London during the Games.

Mark has now self-selected himself as the pro’s captain (unofficially) to ensure that practices, training phases, and general coordination are what he wants. The pros (all of the pros training at Auburn) now have a weekly meeting at which they discuss the prior week’s training and plan ahead for the following week. Then Mark reports back to Brett (Hawke). Mark is taking ownership in his swimming more than ever before and is determined to be regret-free.

Annabelle, our almost-two-year-old, is busy being two but has really taken a liking to visiting Mark at practice. When I say, “Do you want to go watch Daddy swim?” She replies with “Go, Go, Daddy!”

So that’s it. I am back on the blogging band wagon. So, get ready to read. It is going to be a long/short 8 month journey from now until the trials and we’re going to need you (to cheer, to watch, to pray, to believe, and to keep your fingers crossed). Got it?

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