You never forget your first…
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
You never forget your first…
You never forget your first… Of anything.
Your first bike… Brown and white Schwinn Coyote with a banana seat.
Your first love note… (from Melanie, 5th grade)
Your first date… (Lara, Junior Year)
Your first car… (1976 Pontiac LeMans, silver with black hard-top)
Not sure why that is… But without a doubt, you never forget your first.
You never forget your first…
Now that I’m a dad, my wife and I get to enjoy our kid’s “firsts” in all kinds of things.
First time crawling, first words, first baby steps, first day of school, first time riding a bike…
And now first swim meets.
Our daughter has been swimming for 4 years now and loves it. So after watching her get a wall full of ribbons and trophies, swim at State… it was only natural for her little brother to want the same ‘glory’ for himself.
You never forget your first… in anything
He just started on his “novice” swim team. We spent the entire summer down at the local pool working on his swimming. To be able to swim on the team, he had to be able to swim at least 1 lap (25 yards) by himself.
When you’re 5 years old, a whole lap might as well be the English Channel. It looks like a loooonnnngggggg way across.
So he’d swim 1 ‘line’… then 2… then 3… then half-way…
By the end of the summer, he could swim 1-2 laps no problem. He wasn’t exactly as smooth as Michael Phelps (yet…), but bless his heart, he gave it everything he got.
He made the team and got so excited…
…and then very nervous when it came time for his first meet.
You never forget your first…
(A little side-note here… These are the moments that make being a parent worth every second. We wouldn’t trade them for anything!)
The first meet was a 2-hour drive across the island. Lots of time for a young boy to get butterflies, for his tummy to start “hurting”…
“Hang in their buddy, you’re going to do just fine!”
We pulled in to the swimming pool. Gorgeous location on a mountain side overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Laupahoehoe Pool. (“Lah-puh-hoi-hoi”) Say that one 10x fast…
As he started getting registered and warming up, the butterflies really kicked in… He wouldn’t admit it, but his mom and I could tell he was a little anxious…
There were some big boys and girls there…
Mom and I encouraged him. Coach encouraged him…
And then it was time to line up and swim his 1st event.
Across the English Channel. (You never forget your first…)
The gun went off… he kinda timidly leaned over and ‘fell’ into the pool… but swim it he did. He started motorin’…!
Mom, Dad, big sister and little brother all encouraging him on from the other side of the English Channel… screaming as loud as we could.
And as he climbed up the ‘White Cliffs of Dover’ on the other side, the smile on his face was wider than the Pacific Ocean… and worth every second of those long hours at the pool all summer.
All of a sudden, he couldn’t wait for his next event.
He was jumping around like a kid on Christmas morning waiting for his next event to be called.
And this time, he looked just a little bit more confident… a little bit more like Michael Phelps when he flew into the water for the backstroke
He finished with 2 new “personal bests”. He beat the “goal” time his Coach gave him for the Freestyle by 32 seconds.
Now he knows the sky’s the limit. He can almost taste those ribbons and see them on his wall…
And Mom and Dad are smiling because we know even more important lessons are being learned…
You never forget your first, and that makes all the difference…
I hope this brought back some good memories for you… whether it was with yourself, your kids or someone you care about.
Is there something out there you’re thinking of trying… but haven’t started yet?
Starting a business, pursuing a relationship, writing a book, going on that vacation…?
Does it feel like the English Channel is staring you in the face?
You can do it. One ‘line’ at a time. All it takes is that first small leap of faith…
After that…? The sky’s the limit.
It’s your life. Make it count.