A Sunny Memorial Day at a Local Swim Meet

We spent Memorial Day of 2016 at a swim meet somewhere in the Bay Area. It was one of those classic long, hot days spent poolside under a pop-up tent for shade. The whole scene was a familiar organized chaos of parents, coaches, and kids waiting for their events.

There's a lot of nervous energy before a race. I caught one of the girls just as she was diving off the starting block, a moment of focus before hitting the water. The sidelines were packed with people cheering, and the whole atmosphere was a mix of competition and community fun.

But for every few minutes of frantic swimming, there were hours of downtime. The best part of the day was seeing the kids relax between races, finding a patch of grass to just be kids. I found one of them settled into a chair with a book and a soda, completely content. It's these in-between moments that I remember most from days like this.