It all started on Saturday the 11th. Snapper had a big swim meet. She was really excited because she had a decent shot at qualifying for state championships in 50 Butterfly, 50 Freestyle, and 100 IM. The meet was considered a last chance meet, because it was the last meet our swim club was attending before State. I should have known something was up when Snapper rolled out of bed that morning in tears. I chalked it up to nerves, gave her some encouragement, and headed out to the meet. It was freezing. Seriously freezing. The air temp was a damp 42 degrees when we arrived at the pool. While Snapper warmed up with her team in the 85 degree pool, I set up her "throne" for the day. I took her folding chair and lined it with a huge, thick, flannel quilt. When she came out after warm-up, I dried her off really well, wrapped her in a towel, zipped up her parka over the towel, put fuzzy socks on her feet, stuck a warm hood on her head, sat her in her throne, and completely buried her in the quilt. I even had a thermos of hot water to keep the warm tea flowing into her. We were ready and prepared for a cold day meet.
But it was not to be. There were delays prior to the start of her first event, Butterfly. By the time her heat was called, Snapper was visibly shaking with cold on the starting block. This girl is 62 pounds of lean, solid muscle. She has no extra body fat to help keep her warm. She was the last kid to dive, and she looked awkward all throughout her swim. She came in a second slower than her personal best, and last place in her heat. Her second event, Backstroke was even worse. Her flip turn was slow and she hit the lane line twice, something she never does. Between events, she sat huddled in her throne, shaking and chattering. No amount of warm towels, hot tea, or direct sunshine seemed to help her at all. By the time she went out for Breaststroke, her lips were a purplish color. She insisted on swimming, though. Halfway through the race, I could see that she was crying. She came out of the pool sobbing. Breaststroke is her favorite, and she hasn't cried at a meet since she was 7. I knew something was wrong, so I decided there was no point in her swimming anymore that day. She was too cold and miserable. So we scratched her from her last 2 events and left. We decided to swing by our favorite restaurant on our way home to get lunch to go. When I asked Snapper what she wanted, she didn't want anything. That never happens! The kid has a man's appetite, and she loves eating out. I stuck my hand on her back and discovered that she was burning up.
Poor little girl! I felt so horrible! She tried her hardest to swim in the cold, but how can you perform well athletically when you're running a 102 fever, much less when it is super cold outside? Oh my, did I feel bad! Snapper rested quietly at home for 3 days before her fever broke. Then, wouldn't you know it, the bug hit me. And then it hit Matt. And then all the oak trees in Orlando decided to bloom. And what we have in our house is a never-ending series of coughs, headaches, snotty noses, and low-grade fevers. I haven't felt like doing anything at all. This explains my absence from the blog world. I am (thanks to Claritin and Sudafed) on the upswing, I hope. Snapper is back to normal. Though she missed spring state championships, she is now shooting for July States. I think there's a great chance she'll make it there! And July is not in the middle of cold and flu season.
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