Swim TEAm

There are moments in life that alter our very being.

Each summer that I stand poolside with a Dolphin timer in hand, surrounded by chlorine-infused humidity and swim-capped kids, I think of Nestea lemon-flavored iced tea in a can.

And I shudder.

I can still picture that can I selected from a local Georgia Publix in the early 1990s. My family was on our way to a swim meet, and we stopped in to experience this new grocery store and to grab something to eat for dinner. I may have only been 12 years old, but my palate was well into AARP territory. Because I chose crab dip and an Arnold Palmer. It was a choice that would haunt me to literal AARP and beyond.

During the 50-meter freestyle, I regretted every decision I had made in my short existence that led me to that lane. My stomach was rapidly climbing my throat. Each stroke felt like my last. 

As everything I’d consumed that day began to riot, I began to pray.

God, I’m ever so thankful that this didn’t happen earlier during the 100-meter IM, but I may not make it even two laps. I need your help. Because if I hurl in this pool, this meet is over. And so is my life. I will no longer be able to be a Woodbridge Beaver. Or a U.S. citizen. Also, there’s a pretty good chance I may drown. Help. Me.

And by the Good Lord’s grace, I made it out of that pool. He even provided a bush just like He did for Moses. Thankfully, this one was not burning, because it’s where I stuck my entire upper body as crab dip and friends made a hasty exit. This was now unholy ground.

Food poisoning. Yes, these are the types of core memories that stick to us like gum to a shoe. During those elementary and middle school years of swim team, do I remember the friendships, or heat ribbons, or Sharpie-penned events on my arm, or trying to fit my gigantic braid into a swim cap making me look like a Parasaurolophus? Barely. 

Do I remember that one time I threw up at a swim meet? Vividly. 

But I guess core memories help us learn from our mistakes. I can safely say my kids have never eaten crab dip at a swim meet. However, Publix remains one of my favorite grocery stores, and I will still eat anything containing seafood. So, I guess some things stand the test of time and tragedy.

But to this day, I have never had another lemon-flavored tea. That beverage of choice sank to the depths with my dignity that day. I will drink lemonade, and I will drink sweet tea, but these two flavors will never again harmonize. 

You know what blends well, though? Full circle moments of watching my kids strengthen friendships between events, cheering for them as they win heat ribbons, seeing faint Sharpie marks on their arms all week long, and helping my daughter fit her wild hair into a swim cap. 

It just so happens the sweet medley of two separate yet similar childhoods makes the best Arnold Palmer anyway. 

Copyright © 2026, All rights reserved.