Just the title of this post is causing some of you to twitch. The thought of spending your time, money and weekends chasing a kid around the state and beyond is your worst nightmare. Trust me, there are mornings that I would like to turn off my alarm, but we can talk about that in another post. Today, I want you know about what being a swim mom has cost our family.
Having our daughter on a year-round swim team has cost us our ability to be helicopter parents. I have seen first hand that sports, in and of themselves, do not provide this but for our family, challenging our child to speak to her coaches, listen to advice and make her own decisions about training has cost us our ability to hover. Sure, there are times that we have to step in an advocate or teach, but by giving her the ability to set her own goals and drive her passion, we are stepping out of the micromanagement role.
The practice schedule that year-round sports requires has cost us our procrastination. It doesn't work to put off homework and laundry when you have practice looming. You can't wait until the weekend to finish a project when the weekend includes two full days at a swim meet. Time management, self control(ish) and maturing decision making have transformed my kid into a growing teen.
Sure the financial cost of year round sports is not insignificant, but by giving our daughter this avenue to dream, we have been forced to prioritize our finances. This has cost us other areas of our life, but not once have I regretted it. If a vacation doesn't happen or a new toy is not purchased or a house upgrade is not made, I don't care. The sacrifices we make in allowing our girls the resources for their activities is our priority in this season. One will be out of our house in 3 years and the other in 6. There is nothing that I want to do that can't wait until then. One more note, we don't see year round sports as our college savings plan. All of the statistical data shows that the likelihood of our of our 11 year-old continuing to pursue this sport to the level required for college scholarships is slim. If she wants to, that is great. In the meantime, we will still be saving for college so she can be a physical therapist or teacher or engineer without thinking twice of the pressure to swim.
These are just three of the many things that being committed to pursing a passion has given our family. Sure, some of the costs are more taxing, and I am the FIRST to tell you it is not for everyone (for example my oldest). I certainly caution anyone from naively thinking that this is an easy way to get out of junior high PE. However, if you have a kid like mine, who is self driven and has a passion for work, it can be a blessing. And even after comparing the pros and cons, I would do it all over again.
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