September 6, 2011

  • My Son Swam 7 1/2 Miles Today

    I think you all know that I hate to brag about my children.  But my 13 year old son swam 7 1/2 miles today.  It took him 5 hours and 22 minutes. 

    (Xanga photos will not upload right now so imagine a photo of someone swimming).

    He set today aside to see how far he could swim.  He went to the pool almost every day this summer and did laps for about an hour.  But today he wanted to see how far he could go.  I thought that meant he was going to swim for a little longer than an hour.  My wife came home and told me he had been swimming for two hours.  The lifeguards were counting his laps.

    So I went down to the pool and watched him do laps.  He did not take a break.  He kept swimming.  He would grab the water/gatorade mixture we placed in a bottle and he would drink it while swimming on his back.  And then he would turn over and begin swimming again.  I thought he would quit after 3 hours.  He appeared tired.  But he kept going. 

    Several people stopped in and watched him for awhile.  Some of his friends dropped in and cheered him on.  I was stunned when he was still swimming after 4 hours.  But he kept going. 

    He did 456 laps and 60 laps equal a mile.  The owner of the organization who supplies the lifeguards stopped in and watched him and then he came by with gatorade for him.

    It felt like such a big moment for him.  He is the second child.  His older brother is a real athlete and he plays basketball for the varsity team at his high school.  I am not saying the younger son walks in his shadow but I know it is easy for younger siblings to feel like they need to measure up in some way.

    But today he stood out in his own right.  He swam and swam and kept going beyond what any of us thought was possible.  And then one moment, he touched the side and began to climb on his knees out of the pool.  His hands looked like the skin of a grandma.  But that went away pretty quick. 

    It is nice to see my second child stand out in his own way.

    What number child were you?

                                                                                                                  

Comments (100)

  • That’s really impressive! How old is he? 

    I’m the second child of five, and I do understand the feeling of needing to live up my older sister, who has always been my mother’s favorite (while I’ve probably always been her least favorite out of all of us kids).

    However, I feel pretty good about myself today. I ran sixteen miles for the first time ever. Oh yeah  

  • wow, oldest. 

  • Oh my cow. I was the first comment. How did that happen  

    I’m on a ROLL today! Like butter!  

  • I’m my mom’s second child and my dad’s third child.  My older sister is addicted to drugs and a failure so I never had to worry about being in the shadows.  Your son is awesome though!  I’m super jealous of him. I can barely do laps for 10 minutes :p 

  • That’s terrific. Congratulations to him. I’m the youngest.

  • I IMAGINED A NAKED WOMAN SWIMMING FOR THE PHOTO.

    Also, that is awesomeness. THAT KID HAS SOME LUNGS.
    I was the baby!

  • This was really sweet, your son is a beast! I’m the youngest of three.

  • Wow, awesome!  Only child.

  • good for him! I was never a long distance swimmer =)

  • Very impressive. 

    I’m the oldest. 

  • Congrats to your son! That’s awesome.

  • That is absolutely amazing! Maybe he’ll be the next Michael Phelps. Is there a swim team in his school district?

    I am the middle child of five. We moved so often, I never went to the same schools as my older siblings so I never felt I had to live up to my older sister or live down my older brother.

  • Just keep swimming ….just keep swimming…

  • I was an only son and my sisters didn’t care about playing sports.So I had no sibling competition…oh,and congrats to your son.Thats an great and pretty awesome accomplishment

  • I’m number one but I acted like a middle.  Good for your son, I was tired just reading that.  Go him though wow!!!!!!  You should be proud.

  • Good for him. 

  • I can’t even hardly swim at all! I get tired after 2 minutes trying to swim to the edge of the stupid swimming pool. :P I do bike around 3 miles a day and workout after that, but as far as the water goes, it freaks me out. I do want to go surfing some day, I can handle dying by a shark, or a sweet wave or something, dying in a stupid swimming pool would be depressing

  • I think 7.5 miles deserves a proud papa post ;)   Thirteen-years-old too, wow!  Well done :)

    I’m the oldest, with a younger brother close on my heels.

  • His work ethic is really impressive. It’s awesome that he just set his mind to a task and didn’t quit.

    I’m third of 5 kids. :P

  • That’s fantastic! You must be so proud. (:

  • go your son! he rocks for doing that. :)

    i’m the oldest of 6.

  • Second of three. Middle children find a way of standing out and making a statement.

  • That’s awesome! I’m 3rd of 8. 

  • I was the youngest, #3.  If he does that again the next couple days then he will have done the English Channel.  (21 miles.)  If he doesn’t have zoomers and mitts, get him some since it should save him time.  With my toys I did 9 miles one day and 12 the next (648+864 lengths in a 25 yard pool where technically 70.4 laps = 1 mi, but most people use 72 b/c it works nicer for sets).  I loved the water as a kid, but never really got the chance to swim like that.  (I’m only a little jealous.)  Way cool! 

  • How amazing is that!  Swimming 5 hrs and 22 min is insainely amazing!  Oh – don’t feel bad about braging about your children.   I don’t have kids but I <3 knowing kids are being appreciated by their parents (it’s pure beauty).

  • Everyone laughing at you.

    God, what do I do when I am being laughed at?

    Injury to my self esteem.

    I can feel painful humiliation.

    I take the pain.

    I cry on the inside.

    Somedays I really don’t care.

    Right now I picture them laughing.

    And it hurts my pride.

  • Congratulation for you son. I am the shadow of the shadows of my older siblings.

  • That is so awesome! Way to go dude! I am the second child.

  • #1 of 1 I walked nearly non-stop for 12hrs at the las vegas strip. I don’t feel tired when there’s so much to see and buy:D

  • Congrats to your son on his big accomplishment! 

    I am the oldest of 3.

    Kathi

  • Oh my god, that’s incredible. I am the oldest child (in HS too!) and I understand the pressures of my younger siblings. 

    I wish I could swim that well, haha.

  • I’m number 1.  I know that probably sounds conceited, but it’s true.  When people say you need to look out for number 1, they are really talking about me.

  • …in regards to your son though, that is really impressive.  Most people would have given up due to exhaustion or the sheer boredom.  His tenacity to stick with it is to be admired.

  • that’s great!

    i’m the oldest :P

  • congradulations to your son…he is a true sportsman…me?…I’s number 7 in line of 12…large family I know…but it has tapered off quite a bit with us siblings and the next generation is trying to keep the count down low too…smile

  • The oldest; first child for my Dad and third child for my Mom. My youngest brother has moved out and has his own place. I still live with my Dad. 

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  • Very impressive.  To put things in perspective, Michael Phelps trains at about 8 miles daily.  I was a competitive swimmer in my teens trained daily at 5-7 miles daily.  However, it took me about 6 years of training to get to that point.  Impressive that he peaked out at 7.5 miles at such a young age and with only a summer’s worth of training.

  • That’s amazing, you should be very proud. I’m an only.

  • Is he the gay one?

  • oldest

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  • Wow, that’s awesome. I’m a first born.

  • You need to go out and get that kid a trophy made for him!  Wow!  What impresses me more than his athletic ability in swimming that far is his motivation and endurance and mental toughness.  So many would give up way early into it!  You’ve got a smart kid there – he’s going places…swimmingly!  (sorry!  It just floated out!)  :)

    I’ve found the best way to get through life is to listen to Dory….”just keep swimming….”

  • I’m number one and only. I think it made me spoiled.

    I wonder how far I could go now  lol .

  • That is quite a distance to swim lol I could never swim that much lol. I am child number 2.

  • I’m the oldest.

  • That is impressive!

  • I love to swim but I’m not even sure if I had the energy to do it for 5 hours even if I trained weeks beforehand. This really highlights the age old saying “You can do anything you set your mind to”. Kudos to your son!

    To answer the question it’s a bit odd lol. I’m adopted so while I am the third child to join the family I have 3 older siblings. I was taken in before my second oldest brother. I guess you could say I’m the fourth but if we’re going in order of who joined the family I’m the third :c

  • Good morning, Dan!  I bet you’re really proud of him!  I have an older sister which I put on eBay and even offered to pay the freight.  Didn’t even get one bid!  

  • Hey my sister is a second child and she just swam the English Channel a month ago today. Distance swimming must be a second child thing!

  • VERY COOL! I am my mom’s oldest and my dad’s second… but I didn’t see my older sister from the time I was eight until our little brother’s wedding four years ago… 21 years I didn’t see her. I think I’m glad for that, because she’s kinda got me beat in a lot of ways. Lots more opportunities being an “only” child with her mom than I had with two younger siblings and parents who struggled just to keep a roof over our heads. 

  • @Ancient_Scribe - I guess my sister is technically a third child… depending on whether you count our older half-sister since she didn’t live with us… but Kelly is TERRIFIED of water. She can swim, but given the option not to, she’ll take it. I’m the “second” and “oldest”… and I love to swim.

  • I can just imagine the photo… Something along the lines of being well endowed and a string bikini.

  • 4th out of 5! but out lived with my little brother so kinda like being first, esp because all my 3 older brothers have 10 years on me

  • Kudos for your son and his endurance and accomplishment.

    I was the second out of 2.

  • Maybe he was just bored and swimming was his way of having great time! 

    I am baby of 4 on my mother’s side. I douno about my dad’s, though. Probably the 10th of 40 something children. LOL… [[ no, really, he does have a lot of kids. just douno how many. ]]I would understand the pride you have for your son. I would feel the same!! congrat on pulling the record and all the crowds to watch him. :D

  • I never thought I would say this but I really liked this post. It is a real post that you actually spent time on. And for some stupid reason I am actually going to Rec it.

  • By the way do you read your comments????

  • Oldest of 6

  • Very good…bet he ate you out of house and home after that! I’m always hungry when I get through with laps. Tell him, goals make it fun too…like swimming the English Channel or from Cuba to the Keys. OR the U.S. to Europe!!

  • Your posts just don’t work for me without the pictures.  (Just kidding!)

    I am the oldest.  Congrats to your son!!

  • the part about imagining a picture of someone swimming made me laugh out loud for some reason… hahaha

    also – good for him! swimming is hard, and he’s only 13 I couldn’t even imagine swimming for that long or swimming that much.

    get that boy on a swim team!

  • Wow, that’s quite a feat!  He sounds like he’s got a ton of determination.  I think after 5 laps I’d get tired and dizzy.  High five for him!

    I am the youngest daughter.  #3 out of 4 and the youngest is the only boy.  I was the first to graduate high school, and the only one who graduated with over a 2.0 (Brother had a 1.7 and barely made it).  I’m also the only one to go to college and receive a degree of any sort.  The only girl who didn’t get knocked up before I was 20.  
    It didn’t really matter that I stood out from my family, since the attention usually went to whoever was the most fucked up, hah.

  • I’m the oldest. your son’s a champ, congratulations!! :]

  • Second and youngest. It is fun watching your kids find their own notch in life. 

  • that’s an achievement for sure

    i’m the oldest, and all my younger siblings achieve greater things compared to me

    darn it

  • That’s pretty awesome.

    I was number 3 of 4.  All of my siblings had something they were really good at, and I did the same things and wasn’t as good.  So yeah, “living in their shadow” was kind of tough.  But then when I was 16 I finally found something to call my own – speech and debate.  I was pretty awesome at it, and it helped me get my job.

  • Awesome! I hope he still can move tomorrow. You better give him some magnesium!

  • I’m the second one too.

  • I was the third child, only girl. That’s really really impressive — good for him!!

    @RoverMoon -  But my 13 year old son swam 7 1/2 miles today.

  • Wow!! That’s amazing. :)  

    I didn’t know you had kids. o.O I am the oldest. 

  • @andilynn77 - Oopsh 

  • I was the second.  Tell your son he did a good job!  That’s pretty awesome. 

  • Very impressive, that’s some endurance and stamina he has!

    I’m the oldest.

    To which I am the oldest of an oldest of an oldest of an oldest of an oldest, on my father’s side.

  • I am the youngest of 3.

  • @RoverMoon - Hehe :P

  • I can do that in 15 minutes.

    *turns off jetski*

    But kudos to your son!

  • that is so awesome!!  my second child has the same need to prove herself.  she complains all the time that her sister is better at everything.  of course this isn’t true.  I’m also a 2nd child.

    this story is so uplifting.

  • oldest of 2 and underachiever of the family.

  • You sound so much like a proud father that the resemblence is uncanny!

  • Are you sure he’s not half fish! Lol

    & I’m third out of four :)

  • The last time I swam laps, I had to jump out of the pool and vomit from exhaustion.  I’m not a strong swimmer.

    I am a first-born.

  • I’m the oldest.  I have one younger biological brother. I have 3 even younger stepsisters.

    I’m impressed with that swim.  I used to swim around 2 miles or so a practice, but I doubt I’ve ever swam more than 3 miles at one time.  Pretty incredible!

  • Seven and a half miles? That is very impressive, Dan! I’m a middle kid.

  • That is a really good picture of a person swimming, I just thought I’d commend you on that. :)

    Maybe when he gets older he should try swimming marathons or across the English Channel.

    I’m the second of three, so I’m the middle child. I also like to swim, but I don’t think I would keep doing it for 7 hours.

  • Nothing more beautiful, than a proud papa.  Congrats to your son~

    Oldest child of two.

  • Oldest!

  • I’m the oldest. That was quite the achievement, if now’s not the time to be proud, dunno when would be… 

  • Thats really awesome he pushed himself like that :) and I was the second/middle child sandwiched between two brothers lol

  • Wow! That is really impressive.  I’m an oldest middle child.  Third of six, but oldest female.

  • My mom’s first, my dad’s second.

  • I’m an only child

  • I’m not sure which number I actually am, I’m told that a lot of my siblings died at or shortly after birth. My mother wasn’t much on keeping count. However 8 of us lived long enough to be remembered and of those 8 I’m number 7.

  • You son did really well, I know you’re proud of him for hanging in there. Why don’t you like to brag about your kids?

  • 1, but your son’s accomplishment is truly impressive. I swim almost daily all summer(currently only on the weekends because the water’s gotten colder), and I couldn’t come close to that.

  • Only child :) That was a lovely story!

  • Fourth of five.

  • You must be very proud. 

    I am the oldest child. 

  • Congrats and good luck! Every child needs to be a strong swimmer and it sound like you`re working on another. I, too, am a strong swimmer, but I don`t think I could swim that far, ordinarily. I love to swim, and learned the tricks of being able to stay afloat without a floatation device while in the Navy, and while swimming in general. Seems many folks drown in open water, or even in moving water, like the rivers and such when there are floods, more than should be, I guess. Not a stat that I track.  But, again, congrats to parents and offspring on said accomplishment.   Peace

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