Touch With Royalty

The kids and I recently had a chance to attend a USA Swimming meet in Austin. It was amazing! Abigail and I were super impressed to see such fast swimmers in person. She was mesmerized by their talent and took notes on their technique.


Of course, Michael Phelps was the biggest superstar Abigail was impressed by. I was mostly impressed by his mother. We were five seats away from her, and I couldn't believe how fantastic she looked. Having come straight from one of Abigail's meets, I was a disheveled mess from the indoor pool humidity and long day poolside. But not Mrs. Phelps! She was impeccable, even while poolside. I was dying to ask her how she did it!




Phelps wasn't the only superstar there. We also got to see Katie Hoff, Ryan Lochte, Eric Shanteau, Peter Vanderkaay, Ricky Berens, Melissa Franklin (she won almost every event and is only 15 years old!), and Dale Rogers. You've probably never heard of him, but Dale may be Abigail's first crush. He taught a special practice session for Abigail's swim team a few months ago, and she is still in awe of him. As soon as she saw that he had qualified for the finals (and swam faster than Phelps), she couldn't wait to go find him and hug him. When I later told her coach about her excitement, he said he would try to get Dale back to the pool soon. Eeek! Young love... ha! ha!