Today was the final day of the National Diving Championships. It was incredible being back at UCLA with my husband and two kids. This is the stage of my life I remember longing for and dreaming of when I was a college student many years ago. Enjoying life as a mom. Finding a fun outing for our family, stretching my kids’ awareness of the world and all that is in it.

So today we sat for 5 hours watching one spectacular dive after another.

• The 10M Men’s Platform (top 13 divers in the U.S. each doing 6 dives = 78 dives)
• The 5M Women’s Springboard (top 12 divers, each doing 5 = 60 dives)
• The 5M Synchronized Men’s Springboard (watched their warm-ups)

I was a very proud mama today. Wow! I didn’t even realize it until just calculating it. My kiddos sat through 138 dives. And that’s after arriving an hour early and watching all the warm-ups. But thankfully we arrived when we did; we were able to get the very last seats in the shaded prime seating area. The kids had been fascinated at first and then a good way through had the wiggles and then by the end were just tired. Who blames them? Natalie just turned 4 and Jacob is not even 6 yet. And yet they sat through 138 dives. Without a single complaint. And almost complete focus on each one. Before each dive, an electronic whistle blew, letting all spectators know they were expected to be completely silent, to allow the athletes full concentration. And my kids sat still and silent each time. I realize I’m gushing now with mama-pride of my cub bears. 🙂 But honestly, I’m just so happy that we can have fun, family outings like these. It makes my heart happy.

And what better way to start off my very 1st blog entry. I’m soooooooo far from being fit and muscular like those divers I saw today, but I do have a passion for something I’d love to plunge into. The world of documenting my family’s story. If some people read it along the way, hey, that’s great. But my main purpose is to record life in a way that will serve as my family’s archival journal. I’ve heard that bloggers can publish their posts into some kind of printed book. That’s what I dream of. One day. Perhaps a year from now. To print and cherish all the memories that by then my mind may have forgotten about. I do have a bad memory. So here’s to a future of holding on tight to the details……