Weak week

 It was a weak week for me. On Sunday afternoon, I came down with the sickness gifted to me by my family, and it was a rough one. I haven't been that sick in years. We think it was the flu. That fever was so painful! Once the 48 hour acute fever phase subsided, the cough-n-snot phase hit with full force, compounded by bone-deep fatigue. I barely did anything all week long. I was too weak to play the piano for more than 20 minutes at a time, and I definitely couldn't run. I didn't even start driving Amber to school until Wednesday, and I spent most of the week sitting: on the couch, in my recliner, in bed. I drove Amber to school and then existed until she needed to be picked up.

The one thing I accomplished this week (aside from opening three boxes of tissues) was I went to both of Jay's swim meets in Yakima. Jay was still recovering from his own bout with the flu, and his lingering cough made swimming extra challenging. On Thursday night, he skipped three or four of the flip turns in his 500 freestyle so he could have his head above water a few seconds longer to cough before continuing swimming. He still finished that long race in just under 7 minutes though! (His PR is 6:20.) He said that when he coughed during the 100 backstroke race, it messed up his stroke count going into a flip turn and slowed him down.

Saturday was the Yakima Valley Swim Championships. Lion's Pool in Yakima was PACKED with swimmers and parents. The air inside was hanging with humidity, heat, and chemicals. My throat and cough felt progressively worse the entire 3.5 hours I was there. The only places to sit down were wet, so I did a lot of standing. I wore my Coach White t-shirt and piggy-backed off of our team's seating area. A stroke judge even handed me a yellow DQ slip! Haha. I accepted it and tried not to feel too much like a poser. 

At the beginning of the meet, the team gathered in a circle and did their call-and-answer team chant. Jay led it: 

What do we want? A POOL!

When do we want it? NOW!

LET'S SWIM!

I took a video of the team chant.

Later, in an attempt to get a breath of fresh air, I leaned against a railing near the entrance to the pool. The man next to me, who was wearing a t-shirt from another school, glanced at the back of my shirt and said, "You must be Coach White." 

"How did you know?" I joked. (My name was written on my shirt.) The man laughed and then said the nicest things about our swim team:

"I have heard your team's story this year, how you don't even have a pool, but you still have a swim team. I have to say you guys are doing an amazing job. The boys on your team are so kind and supportive of everyone, and it is wonderful to see."

I paraphrased his words, but it was so sweet and kind to hear a parent from another school notice the hard, hard, daunting work that Jeff is pouring in to our swim boys, and to acknowledge that it is impressive! I had to swallow a few chemical-humid gulps of pool air so I could continue chatting without weeping. 

I only have one dozen pictures to show for the week:

Jay was feeling the healthiest on Monday night, so he made dinner: biscuits and gravy. I love that Jay is not intimidated by the kitchen. He looks up recipes and goes for it. Jeff, Rose, and Amber said it was a very good dinner.

Amber, reading a book before school.

Before the swim meet on Thursday, Amber and I went to Costco to pick up my new glasses. They are big and round and possibly too trendy for my taste. I'm still getting used to them. 

Jay, in lane 2 during the 500 yard freestyle race, with his buddy Noah (in the black suit) holding the lap counting cards.

Go Jay!

Yakima Valley Swim Championships: 

Saturday, January 24, 2026

Lion's Pool in Yakima is not a large facility. It was crammed with people! 

Rose, Jimena, and Kennedy, our three team managers, patiently timed every race in lane 2.

A group of our boys congregated in the warm-up pool to watch their teammates swim.

I snagged a front row piece of the wet floor right next to lane 1 for Jay's 500, and my phone did an ok job getting pictures of the action up close!

Jay swam about the same times on Saturday as he did Thursday, although he did say he felt better on Saturday, so that's a good sign!

Jay was in the fast heat of the 100 backstroke!