PYT by Michael Jackson

As a very young child, I struggled mightily with weak lungs.  Allergies, hay fever, bronchitis, and pneumonia were frequent visitors to my kindergarten self  and I missed about half of the school year due to the disruptive coughing.  The doctor suggested that my mom get me enrolled in swimming posthaste as a way to a, get me away from pollen and b, strengthen my lungs.  It helped significantly, but what ultimately did the trick was moving to Twain Harte, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, away from pollen and pollution.  I still have fond memories of those swim lessons and being a Pleasant Hill Dolphin. 

My husband tells me that swimming isn't really a team sport.  I can see his point in that there isn't a lot of communication while swimming and you aren't really relying on anyone else, except maybe during relay races.  Regardless, I remember cheering on my teammates during their races and we had team meetings and even a song about the PHD's.  I don't remember any of it, but we got to yell PHD and it was great.  I am fairly competitive and I loved winning ribbons and even a trophy once.  I also very distinctly remember cheating.  It was during the breaststroke which I disliked (so boring, so slow) and furthermore I wasn't very good at it, so in the middle of the race, I decided to go ahead and flutterkick and hope no one noticed.  They noticed and I was DQ'd, but I knew I totally deserved it.  I also remember my dad usually bringing me a donut with blue frosting and sprinkles.  I loved having my parents come to my meets which means I am going to have to sit on the soccer field for hours someday watching my kids, as much as I don't want to now!

We typically carpooled with one mom or another to swim practices.  On one of the days my mom picked us up and we were driving home, at least three 6-year olds crammed into the backseat, singing along to PYT at the top of our lungs.  My parents had the cassette which I have referenced it before.  My favorite part was yelling out "PYT" in response during the chorus and giggling with my friends.  I felt super proud of my mom for playing the total "it" song for us, which I guess makes my mom a cool mom, not like a regular mom.