My hero, SKYPE

A lot of our lives have played out over Skype.

As I have said before, Mark and I have lived apart for a few months here and there due to work, training, school, etc. Not only have we spent a few months apart here and there, but often times Mark travels for weeks at a time for meets. For example, this summer Mark will leave for Nationals in Irvine, CA on July 29. He will compete August 3-8 at the USA Swimming Nationals. If he is one of the top two in either of his events (100m and 200m breaststroke) he will stay in California with the rest of the National team (yes, Michael Phelps will probably be there) until the Pan Pacific Games starts on August 18th. The Pan Pacific Games will run through August 21 and Mark will return on August 22.

I am sure you are doing the math in your head, but if you are struggling I will help... this summer (which is even considered an "off" summer) Mark will potentially be away for more than three weeks in August (not to mention the 10 days that he is away now. Mark's away days certainly add up.

Furthermore, Mark is not good at talking on the phone. You didn't know that talking on the phone was a skill? Well it is, and it is one of the few skills Mark is not good at. This used to create issues. I am a chatterbox (if you couldn't tell), but I got sick of talking at Mark while he sat on the other end of the line... silent.

So, needless to say, Skype has become a dear friend of the Gangloff family. Even when Mark is away for only a few days at a time, we Skype.

This morning I put Annabelle on the floor in front of the computer while video calling with Mark. He just watched her play.

Yes, traveling is difficult (on all of us... even Daisy, the dog), but Skype makes it a million times easier-it makes a demanding travel schedule manageable.

So, I'll repeat myself. A lot of our lives have played out over Skype.

Have I told you about the time we found out that I was pregnant with Annabelle, yet? Let's just say that Skype was part of that moment, too.

Do you use Skype, yet? If not, I highly recommend it.

Show me the money!

Jerry Maguire showed his client the money with a multi-million dollar contract, but sports agents in the swimming world have a more daunting task of finding work and sponsorship for relatively low-profile athletes (swimmers). Swimming, though one of the most popular sports every four years during Olympic fever, has yet to really break into prime time and certainly, with the exception of one Mr. Michael Phelps and maybe a few others, has not broken into mainstream sponsorship. I think that this will change given a little bit of time and a little bit of love from people like yourselves-swim fans and supporters of Olympic wives.

Mark does have an agent, like we would recommend for anyone trying to make it (not necessarily trying to make it "big" but those merely trying to make it to the next season-I'm assuming that if you want to make it "big" that you would also need an agent). Mark's agent, David Arluck, helps Mark to establish working relationships with organizations such as the USA Swimming Foundation, the USOC and other companies so that Mark can get work such as speaking engagements, autograph sessions and swim clinics. Like you probably assume, Arluck Promotions arranges work for Mark and then gets a "cut" of the payment. Is it worth it? Absolutely. There was a time, before Mark had an agent, that he relied solely on the USA Swimming/USOC stipend (this was a stressful time and I am so thankful that I was merely the girlfriend at the time and did not have to experience, directly, this stress-I was only an outsider at the time and the nagging was minimal). Now, Mark's agent ensures that Mark has steady work throughout the year-thank goodness because we have yet to get a sponsorship for daycare and diapers (though if the makers of Pampers, Luvs or any other diaper brand is out there and would like to become a sponsor, please drop us a line. I am not above slapping a logo on the rear end of our sweet baby girl).

David also helps to protect Mark's rights (to his name, likeness, image, etc.) as a professional athlete.

The big question that I'm sure all of you are wondering is if I meddle in Mark's business with his agent. The answer, maybe an obvious one, is yes. Duh. I am a nervous swim wife. Again, it is my job to nag, meddle and instigate. I involve myself when Mark asks me to and when I think it is necessary. Do I include myself in every conversation between Mark and his agent? No... I swear.

Yes, we know Michael Phelps

So, the first question that we get when we tell someone that Mark is a swimmer, no matter who we may be talking to, is always, "Do you know Michael Phelps?"

My answer: Yes. We know Michael Phelps.

I, personally, am not exactly friends with Michael, but Mark has been swimming and traveling with Michael for practically a decade. Mark has been on multiple relays with Michael. Does Michael swim Mark's event (or, what people usually ask is, does Mark swim Michael's events?). No. The breaststroke, Mark's specialty, is the one stroke that Michael does not swim. I tell people that Michael doesn't swim it because he is afraid to race against Mark.

The Phelps Family from My Point of View
From my point of view, remember, I am the one sitting in the stands, I have gotten the opportunity to get to know other nervous swim wives, moms, dads, siblings, cousins, etc. So, it is Mrs. Phelps whom I can discuss.

Mrs. Phelps, like other nervous moms, sits in the stands. She watches the score board for splits, puts her hands over her face in anticipation and cries at both victories and defeats (similar to me, but I am in a pair of cut-off shorts and a tank top and she is in a complete Chico's outfit--jewelery and all). She does usually have more of an entourage than I do, however (okay, let's face it, I have no entourage except sometimes my mother). She also doesn't seem to carry along a camera-I guess if you have every media outlet taking action shots of your son and candid photos of your family you don't need to carry along your own camera. But, besides that, she is a typical swim mom.

Last weekend we took our five month old daughter, Annabelle, to the Charlotte UltraSwim. It wasn't Annabelle's first trip to the pool (we drug her to Winter Training in Ft. Lauderdale with the Auburn University swim team when she was just 4 weeks old), but it was her first 'big' meet with Mark and the first time we were 'introducing' her to all of the swimming folk. Everyone loved her... including Mrs. Phelps. This is why we love swimming. No matter who you are, who you are related to, and who you are cheering for, everyone is in this thing (professional swimming) together. When Mrs. Phelps saw Mark with Annabelle she reached out and gave Mark a hug (I mean the kind of hug only a mom knows how to give). "I am so proud of you and your family," she told him.

I held back the tears, but thought, "I am, too."

These are the sorts of experiences I have with the Phelps Family.

The other experience I have, which is not so personal, but just as awesome, involves a year's worth of free pizza. After the 2008 Olympics, Pizza Hut gave everyone on the U.S. Olympic swim team a year's worth of free pizza to celebrate Michael's amazing gold medal streak. We thought this was great at the time, but when I got pregnant in the spring of 2009 and we still had plenty of pizza left in the year, we thought this was AMAZING. I was not only refusing to cook, but I was hungry beyond belief. I could down an entire medium pizza by myself (I guess I wasn't totally alone, though Annabelle was only a couple of centimeters long, so I hardly think I can blame her for craving a entire peperoni pizza). I still associate my first trimester with Pizza Hut and, strangely enough, Michael Phelps.