Swimmer Sam

So my youngest nephew, Sam, is quite the swimmer. We're really not sure where he gets it from. You throw me in a pool? I'll tread water for maybe five seconds before doggy paddling over to the side of the pool. And that's only IF I don't actually drown. I can't swim.  Not backstroke, not freestyle, and definitely not any of those other fancy swim-terms.

 

 

 

Sam, on the other hand, can do all that fancy business and FAST. He's 12 years old, and he works really, really hard to improve his times, and it makes his Aunt Lizard (that's me) very proud. Last weekend, we had the pleasure to watch him swim a big meet at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center on the UT Campus. What a nice facility they have at UT - I was very impressed.

 

Apparently, Tennessee did swimming proud back in the 70s. Not sure what has happened since then, but I'm crossing my fingers that Sam chooses to come to Knoxville for college to turn that swim program back around :)

 

 

 

Sam's absolute best event is the breaststroke (c'mon y'all, he's TWELVE. It's not appropriate to make jokes about that yet...). He has been great at that event since he first started. In fact, he's really quite good at several events. I know this because we had to stay for NINE hours on Saturday since he made so many finals! Totally worth the wait to watch my nephew take a top 8 spot in so many events. Michael Phelps better watch it!

 

My nephew is the tall, lean one (also two traits he does not get from his Aunt) in lane 8:

 

 

I'll tell you what...I might just hire him to train me after I'm done with this whole preggers thing. Think he could whip me into those six-pack abs shape before summer?

 

 

Sammy...your hard work is certainly paying off! I am very proud of all the events you can swim. Most importantly, I'm so proud of all the time, effort, and hard work you put into your swimming.  Since you were wee itty bitty, you have never been one to give up.  In my opinion, your perseverance is one of your very best attributes!

 

And hey...please don't forget about your Aunt Lizard and Uncle Josh when you make it to the Olympics :)