Deck Pass: A Day in the Life Sunday

The kid has discovered her passion - swimming.

She has competed in 2 swim meets since joining a swim club in December. After spending about 10 hours of sitting knee-to-back on hard metal bleachers, observing usually quiet moms screaming at the tops of their lungs <it's always the quiet ones> and being enveloped in air too warm for comfort I have one thing to say:

She absolutely has to continue.

She has to continue not because my pride overflows each time I see her quell her fears, step on the starting block and channel her years of swimming in the river into a smooth, solid stroke to compete with a handshake and a smile.

She has to continue not because it is a life long sport, because this is where friendships are made, or because she is growing stronger, sleeker and faster with each practice.

She has to continue because my new found identity as a swim mom is firmly attached to it.

Hanging with the other parents, cheering the kids on down the lanes <faster, faster, breathe, smooth turn, way to go!> and comparing individual times against standards at the final stretch of each race, I am getting my swim on.

For this group of parents, it's about each kid doing their best and getting better. No intimidating jeers only roof-raising cheers and encouragement.

And, swim moms have apps, too. Want to maintain your kid's races and times at your fingertips for all eternity? Turns out there's a USA Swimming Deck Pass app for that.

My daughter is much stronger across the board than I ever was at her age. How lucky am I to get to enjoy each and every day with this beautiful little girl I am blessed to have as my daughter.

All that aside, in my 2-meet swim mom opinion, she could turn those arms over just a little faster.

Photo credit iStockphoto

{Hitting the Road} Leadership and Credibility Presentation

I have the honor, or is it street cred, to say that I've been working for a living longer than I've not been working.

When I consider the many jobs I've had, my favorite, by far, was my time as an ROTC instructor. Sure, we had the have-to-teach classes like military history, tactics and marksmanship but we also had the fun classes.

The best part of my week was when was able to mold and shape young minds and teach Leadership.

The thing about leadership is it extends beyond the walls of a classroom. When you are a leader, you wake up and step into a living, breathing leadership learning lab. In this lab, you learn from experiences. You often learn more from the bad experiences than from the good.

Last week, I had the opportunity to share my experiences and talk about leadership and credibility with the professionals of ALAMN. 

I tripped over my carefully constructed outline, botched a few lines and forgot to advance a slide or two but I resisted my natural urge to bolt, stayed within my time and noone got hurt.

It. Was. Awesome.

So awesome it may be time to take this conversation on the road.

Note: click on the "empty" slides for cool fly-in text.

Before I pack my bags, I'd like to publicly thank Cheryl Nelson, ALAMN Business Partner and Conference Committee, for finding me, the professionals of ALAMN for their generosity and Sean Schuette, CMP, Director of Meetings and Events at IntrinXec Management Inc., for the smooth running of the behind-the-scenes show.