First half of senior year? Check

A few weeks, Darcy had her last two swim meets; districts where she swam her last individual events and regionals where she swam her last relay. She is now done with her high school swimming career. It was bittersweet for me. The meet was held locally, south of us at an aquatic center that sits directly on the shore. The views are spectacular, not only of the bay, but also of the top notch pool facility, from the covered spectator seating. It was a beautiful morning, and while I was listed as a timer, I wasn't needed so I snagged a shady spot in the upper right hand corner directly in front of lanes 4-6 to watch my girl compete.

She did well. Her butterfly stroke this year, to my trained eye, was off. She made some adjustments to compensate for her injured shoulder, and it wasn't for the better. It made her come out of the pool too high when breathing and the injured shoulder was always a bit behind instead of being in sync. Her freestyle was great, and I truly believe if she had concentrated on that stroke this year, worked on her turns, she would have gone farther. But swimming, for her, is a joy and what she does for exercise and fun so I pretty much kept my mouth shut and just let her be.

It was a good meet, and her relay made it on to the regionals. That meant a road trip south to Ft. Meyers, but it wasn't a bad drive. Two and a half hours for a fifty meter swim, but hey, all I could think about while I sat at both meets was this was it. This was the last time I would be doing any of this, and so I sniffled and blinked back tears, and enjoyed all of it.

She is busy finishing up her IB curriculum, stressing and pacing and worrying. In between all of that she is applying for colleges and scholarships. In her spare time she is vocal about justice and taking a stand for her beliefs.

She volunteered to be the senior speaker at the junior IB pinning ceremony that our IB organization puts on each year, and she was great. I sat and watched as she did the same thing her sister had done three years prior. She stood tall, spoke eloquently, injected humor, and gave a speech she wrote to her fellow classmates.

It's been cool to spend this time with her the past two years. Her father and I couldn't be more proud of the woman she has become. She is kind, gentle, strong, independent, and true to herself. As she finishes up her last year of high school, we are content to sit back and let her fly.

And to support her by trudging to all of the events she still is a part of, because this time next year we will be wishing we had some of these activities still left to attend.