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year, I have never been a great swimmer, just average, but I
enjoyed it. We missed our first three swim meets because of
our '1981 Gellar Family Extravaganza’; you know the one with the
shiny pay phones. After the third swim meet, everyone gets placed
in the lanes by how they’ve won in the previous meets. Megan was a
nice girl on the team, usually an average swimmer just like me.
Today, however, she got the middle lane; everyone was bragging how
well she did at the first three meets and that she took first place
in breast stroke all three times. The best swimmers are always in
the middle, there are six lanes and every other lane is someone
from the opposing team. She was the one to beat.
    For the fifty meter breast
stroke race I was in the outer lane right next to the wall, the
norm for me. I was very determined to win, or to do well, when I
finished I tagged the side of the pool and looked to my right and
saw no one. I had a memory flash back of the first race I was in
when I was four. Some memories fade after time, but some stick with
you like they were yesterday no matter how much time goes by. I
started swim team after that, it's an amusing story how my first
swim race went.
    On a normal day we would
usually leave the pool around three or four in the afternoon but
this time we had stayed to watch the swim meet. Just one random
summer night my mom had decided to stay late. She was still a
lifeguard and swim teacher at the time. In the six and under group
they only had three swimmers and six lanes, one swimmer was on our
team and the other two were from the opposing team. So they needed
another person and because I could swim all the strokes my mom
volunteered me.
    Of course, every kid always
says “yes” when asked if they want to swim, I was no dummy, I said
yes too. They asked me if I knew how to dive, “oh yes” I said
“I can”. So they told me when the gun goes off dive into the water,
swim as fast as you can "freestyle" to the other end of the pool
and stay in your lane. The lanes were lined with floating guides,
it looked easy enough. I was still small and someone had to help me
up on the starting block but up I went. There wasn’t enough time to
be nervous. I was watching one minute and then the next I was on
the starter block.
    The referee said “Take your
marks”, I didn’t move, “Get set”, “POP” went the
cap gun. I shook at startling noise but then I jumped into the
water doing the most horrid looking dive, I guess you couldn't even
call it that. It was more of a jump smack dive combo I was told. I
came up and took a deep breath and I started swimming as fast as I
could. I didn’t look around, just like they told me, I just swam
and swam and swam. I swam my heart out! I got to the other end of
the pool! I looked up and saw no other swimmers I must have beat
everyone! Leaning on the edge of the pool I said “I won, I won!” I
couldn't make out what everyone was doing outside the pool, they
were holding their stomachs and their faces were red, some were
jumping up and down, they were laughing and cheering. Coach pulled
me out of the water and wrapped a towel around me and gave me a big
hug. He held me up under my legs cheering with his other
arm.
    So of course I asked “Did I
win?” and another roar of laughter washed through the crowd. I
never saw my mom laugh so hard before, she wiped her eyes and said
“Oh, no honey.” I heard chuckle, chuckle. “You came in dead last!
You came in about two minutes behind everyone else!” Another roar
of laughter came about. I remember it very clearly; some memories
just really stick with you. That was the day my sister and I were
signed up for swim team. My mom, of course, was harassed for the
way I swam, I guess I swam like a wiggle worm; my butt was going
side to side. Even her boss gave her a hard time about it because
she was one of the pools swim teachers. However, it didn't take her
long to straighten me out.
     
    As soon as I tuned back