In Perpetual Pursuit

Abigail Leigh was born on 2/27/11 at 11:20 a.m.  She weighed 7 lbs, 10.8 oz and was 20" long.  She is absolutely beautiful.  I know many of you are confused, since you have read the pregnancy posts and the post pregnancy posts...but have been asking, "Did I miss something? Where is the baby?!?" She lives with her parents. Yes, I said her parents .   Abigail is my biological daughter; but I am not her Mommy.  Her Mommy is a fantastic person I am lucky to have connected with.  Someone that is ready to raise a child because she can make personal sacrifices to make sure that Abigail will have the best life possible.   Who's the daddy?    To eliminate any further discussion on this topic: Yes, I know who the father is, but he is not her Daddy.  Her Daddy   is the man I now entrust with her life; the man that I met in October and thought, "Yes, he is someone whose values my biogical daughter should have, and she will h...

I can officially say I'm back in the pool, and training. Monday I swam a set of 5x50, 4x50, 3x50, 2x50, 1x50 starting at 1:00 and descending. Tuesday I swam 5x100 @ 1:45. Wednesday was "off" Today...we shall see. Thinking about going 5-4-3-2-1 x 100's. Yes, I had a C-section 3 weeks ago. Yes, I feel fine. Yes, I'm being careful. If I wasn't being careful, I'd be swimming 3000 yards instead of 1500 on my first week back. My body is bored. When my body is bored, my mind is bored.  I love being an athlete.

Reposted from my adoption blog. Written to Abigail...during the first week after giving birth. <3 Genetic "Surrogacy" I am so thankful that I chose an open adoption early in my pregnancy.  I had time to get to know your parents and by the time you were born they already felt like family to me.  For the majority of the pregnancy I was able to mentally prepare myself for your birth and the fact that you would be going home with your mom and dad.  The first time I met your parents at the end of September I knew they were going to be your mom and dad, so pretty much the whole time I was pregnant with you I always felt like you were theirs.  I even used the term that I was a "genetic surrogate" to help explain to people how I felt about the open adoption.  I look up to your parents and how strong their relationship is to have gone through 12 years of being together and how much they deserve to be your parents.  I look at how they are together and ho...

Just some thoughts running through my head today... Is Salem the right place for me to live...forever? I promised myself another 5 years to Piranhas....with the stipulation it would become a full-time job within those 5 years.  One year down...4 to go. The merger wasn't accepted; it it a hopeless goal and do I cut ties and move on or do I keep fighting for a program I believe in, that I've put my heart and soul into for four years.  I believe it was the step in the right direction this year...but I just don't see it making a full 5-year plan for me.   Love the GED job but it doesn't offer benefits. I'm getting old. I need benefits. But i hate teaching full time in the public school system.... I applied to be a 'guest' at KSU-Salem next fall. ...lordy lordy. School loans will be caught up so i can resume grad school next fall.  Yay! Is there really someone out there for me? I get frustrated in relationships so easily. Did i chose the correct path fo...

Relative Age and its effect on youth sports Caroline McDermott 12/23/2010 *note: all athletes in this article, are referred to as “him” for simplicity’s sake. ISSUE Does the relative age of a child affect his ability to become an elite athlete, and if so, what should youth coaches do to allow athletes that may develop later a chance at elite greatness?  Should youth leagues be allowed to exist with the purpose of developing elite players for their respective sport leagues, or should these leagues be used in the general development of well-rounded youth? BACKGROUND             Ask any teacher, coach, or adolescent psychologist:  There is a huge difference in physical, emotional, and academic maturity (by this I mean the academic skills a child obtains—early and basic literacy and math skills being the most basic) between a child that is aged 8-years, 11-months an...

Technology vs. Hard Work: Why competitive swimming got it right by going back to grassroots swimsuits.  by Caroline McDermott The sport of competitive swimming has long been coveted for instilling pride in the effort and results of hard work. Our sport, with the exception of the East Germans in the 1980's, has not been tainted with the use of performance-enhancing drugs, especially in the United States. Our sport thrives on the concept of those who work the hardest, achieve. The introduction of the technical suit in 2008 (Speedo LZR, amongst others) threatened to change the very essence of our sport. The swimsuits, which were introduced to the swimming world in 2008, have led to over 102 World Records set in 2008, in the Olympics and other internationally recognized meets.(Cazeneuve, 2009)   “At one point in the Olympics, 42 of the 48 swimming medals awarded had been won by athletes wearing Speedo's LZR.” (Five Reasons, 2009) Overall, 158 World Records were ...