Green Shoes, Green Cap and Green Goggles

My graduating class at BYU was about a gazillion people. I tried to find the exact number, and I couldn’t find it, but I’m sure it was a couple thousand. (This most recent graduating class was over six thousand!) Graduation was held in the Marriott Center. All of the graduates walked in on the floor, and all of our guests were seated in the 26,000 seat arena. I knew I had to do something so my family could tell which one was me. Other graduates put things on the tops of their caps. I had a pair of bright green shoes. (It’s ok, it was 1990. That was the style.) I wore my bright green shoes so my family could see me when I entered the Marriott Center.

Ryan had his first swim meet on Saturday. There were hundreds of swimmers there. Some events had four or five heats! Luckily, the members of the Tsunami swim team have bright green swim caps. Most of the swimmers have dark blue or black goggles. Ryan has bright green goggles. We’ve thought about getting him some blue or black goggles, but then it would be more difficult to find him in the crowd.He did pretty well in his first meet, especially considering that he had only been on the team for four days! There was a huge disappointment, though. As the swimmers’ names appeared on the scoreboard, Ryan’s name wasn’t listed! It wasn’t in any of his events. We were looking forward to seeing his name in lights! We found out after the meet that apparently the person who was in charge of submitting the registrations for the meet didn’t get everyone’s in! The coaches put Ryan in the slot of another kid who had signed up for the same events, but then didn’t come to the meet.The other disappointing thing about that is that none of Ryan’s times will count for him. It is all computerized, and the programs even had each swimmer’s best times in each event. So, on Ryan’s next meet, technically his second, it will look like his first. That’s ok. This was a good experience for him. We think he MAY have placed third in Butterfly, but with so many heats, it was hard to tell. We’re going to see if the coaches can figure out his times (based on the “other kid’s” results). At least WE’LL know Ryan’s times, and we can see how much he improves.

The heat at the meet was stifling! It was an indoor facility, but it may as well have been outdoor. Between the hundreds of people and the humidity, it felt like we were sitting in a closed bathroom after a hot shower…for FIVE HOURS!!! Yes, Ryan and I got there at about 12:50, and left at 6:10. Rara & Papa, and Marc & Frances and the girls were all able to come to cheer Ryan on. Hopefully the next meet will be shorter, cooler, and Ryan will be an official participant.

Here are a few pictures from the meet…