Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!

Sometimes it hits me like a wave. The feeling grows from my stomach to splash over my whole body. I cannot predict when, where, or why it comes. . .

It hits me this morning when I am taking a shower. I see that I am a heavy, out of shape, 35-year-old guy whose best years are behind him. I look beaten, tired and soft. At this moment, I wish I never was a swimmer. I wish I never knew what it was like to be in shape, to feel my body performing at its peak.

My mind drifts away from the steam filed bathroom to my college days at Macalester when I was young and strong, back to my sophomore year.

Swimming mixes the best of team and individual sports. A swimmer competes with their team, yet individually can mark progress by comparing times from races through out the season. Our biggest swim meet of the year was the conference meet. Conference was the last meet for most of us. It was the meet all our hard work during the season was for. We were in shape and we were going to shine during those three days at St. Olaf.

I swam great. I had never swum a faster 400 Individual Medley, my 200 fly felt easy and powerful, I helped Macalester break a school record in the 800 free relay, and all that was left was the 200 free relay.

St. Olaf is a great place to swim a big meet. There are 6 lanes with the starting blocks at the shallow end and a 1 and 3 meter boards at the deep end. Lane 6 runs along the bleachers that could hold close to 300 people. Lane 1 was adjacent to a wall of windows that let light stream in during the day.

Our 200 free relay swam slow at prelims and was seeded last. A 200 free relay consists of four swimmers each swimming 50 yards (down and back). Leading off our relay was Dan Allen, Chad Baasen second, I was to go third and Stanton Enomoto was the anchor. We were just where we wanted to be. The stands were packed including the entire Macalester girls swim team. We knew they were there to watch us. We were ready to surprise everyone from lane six.

There are moments in life you can never forget. That instant, before I was to swim, I can remember how excited I was, I can remember how the water was working with light creating cascading patterns on the back wall, and I can remember the sound of the crowd cheering.

When I hit the water I was struck by two things, first how fast I felt sliding through the water and second, I had forgotten to tie my swim suit. The force of my start had pushed my suit half way down my butt. There was no way I was going to let down my teammates so I put my head down and swam. Much to my relief, my suit did not move any further down. When I got to the wall and started my turn I was relieved to feel my suit ride higher. I was relieved, that is, until I pushed off the wall and the suit dropped to my knees. There was nothing to do but swim.

When I finish, I expected to see Chad and Dan doing one of two things; either laughing at me, or giving me a look of contempt. They gave me neither. They were yelling at Stan, encouraging him to swim. I quickly pulled up my suit, got out of the pool and started to cheer with them. Stan finished with a flurry touching out St. Thomas to place 4th over all. We were all hugging and giving each other high-fives no one mentioning my faux pas. Could it be that they did not even notice?

With a sense of relief I walked back to our team. As we went pass the stands, a hush passed over the crowd. As I looked up, I saw the entire girls swim team on their feet giving me a standing ovation.

A loud crash brings my mind back to the present. The bathroom door bangs open and three boys come running in. Anthony and Nathaniel want to play dinosaurs but Michael wants them all for himself. The boys are screaming at the top of their lungs pleading for guidance. In the middle of the bathroom, their dripping dad is smiling.