This blog is meant to serve as a big thank you to Kristin Newman, who wrote the poem below for our wedding day, 11 years ago yesterday. My wife and I celebrated 11 years last night, and before we went out, I shared this poem with her.
At our wedding, my former USS club team, Team NCS, helped make our reception one to remember. They were such a big part of my life. During the reception, the kids took turns reading a poem that one of my swimmers, Kristin Newman wrote for us. Ironically, Kristin is now married and I just got a wedding invitation from her younger sister Elise. Elise not only swam for me then, she teachers for me now.
At any rate, I want to thank Kristin and all my former swimmers for helping make our wedding day a special one, and making 1994-2005 such an incredible time in my life. For old times sake, I am going to post the poem she wrote for 11 years ago:
THE DREAM
by Kristen Newman
There are lots of things we’d like to say
On this very special day
We’d like to say you are the best
We know this is true because we’ve definately put you up to the test
We don’t mean to, but sometimes we complain
Until we nearly drive you insane
But we’ve learned that quarters add up real quick
So looks like that move was pretty slick
You make us work our tails off week after week
But in the end it has helped us reach the goals we seek
We swim, we sprint, we do VO2 Max
We’re trying to figure out why we don’t all have six packs
Do you remember the day, it was the end of the season
We pushed you in the pool, we had a good reason
You were kinda mad ’cause you had a hot date
We apologize to you, Heather, for making him late
We think she ended up like you just a little bit
Because when she met us she didn’t throw in the towel and quit
We are your job, your work, your team
If you think about it you’re accomplishing your dream
You have a growing swim team and today a wonderful wife
Who will be your friend and companion for life
We pray that God will bless you as your start your lives together
And we, Team NCS, love you both, Jim and Heather!
Signed by many of my swimmers who shared that special day with us:
Kristen Newman, Diana Marino, Laura Stoudenmire, Shannon Luckie, Emily Niehaus, Tyler Nixon, Amy Starin, Jessie King, Kristin Willoughby, Kate Niehaus, ManyAnn Pascuitti, David Pascuitti, Molly Starin, Catherine Wood, Virginia Roach, Elise Newman, Stephanie Johnson, Libbi Nixon, Shane Spraker, Amy Green, Raymond Balint, Jeremy Newman, Don Bunch, and Steven Luckie (by the way, I sang in Steven’s wedding this past summer, who married another former swimmer of mine, Nicholle Guess). How cool is that!
I miss all you guys and the hundreds of swimmers who I coached at NCS from 1994-2003, and then our state champion Team Carolina swimmers from 2003 – 2005. I miss you all, and you’ll always be like family to me. Thank you! And of course, like Elise Newman, Rachel Drafts, Blair Francis, Catherine Wood, Alyssa Smith, and I’m sure some others, I hope more and more of you will become Swim Lessons University Swim Instructors and teach for The Swim Lessons Company someday soon!