A day in the life of someone who cares.

I meant to get up this morning and go swimming, but when my alarm rang, I just couldn't do it. I made it two days in a row so far... sad but true. And I only made it yesterday morning because I went to bed at 6pm the night before. Its not my fault, our premarital counseling lasted until 1030 last night, which means I didn't get to sleep until after 11, so its justified. 

Yesterday was my last day as a Ripples coach. Ripples are the youngest swimming group on the Waves, and mine was a preripples, which pretty much means the worst of the swimmers. I was kind of looking forward to this day, because Ripples are just a hard group to coach. Some improve and some don't AT ALL, and its somewhat depressing to coach them- I never feel like I make much progress.  Anyway, I was getting frustrated because all the little girls were whispering to each other and telling secrets during the entire practice yesterday because I thought they were keeping things from each other. Turns out, they were whispering about me.  Their parents and them all got together and planned a mini-party for my last day as their coach. They made cupcakes and brought juice boxes and a card and everything.  It was so sweet, and I wasn't expecting it, especially since I'm not the best Ripples coach (I easily lose my patience). It makes me realize the impact you have on the lives of little kids, even when you don't mean to, and it makes me sad to know that they really did enjoy having me as their coach. 

Luckily, leave it to Phi (one of the little boys I've had in my group since September) to bring me out of this "Oh, I don't want to leave my Ripples group now" funk.  He says, "Bye, whatever your name is."  I pretty much had to smile and laugh that one off. 

As I count the days down to graduating and getting married, this is the one and only thing I'm not looking forward to: saying goodbye to all the kids in my developmental group.  They honestly and truly make my day, and I hate the idea that someone else is going to coach them. Every single kid in that group tries their hardest, and I'm so lucky that they were my first coaching experience.