Swim banquet tonight.

I love my kids. Had ten of them at the pool in the next town over, as they are starting up a team joined with Rice Lake. In my remarks, I described us as a one-room schoolhouse actually. 10 swimmers: 3 bronze, all brothers which the swim club was so excited to enroll, as it's hard to get boys swimming competitively at that age. Too many other sports options, I think. 5-year-old (now 6, since the season ended and I saw them last) Aaron greeted me with a spontaneous hug. Too sweet, and no, we weren't a hugging team. The twins, Andrew and Austin, were as rambunctious as usual, in a lively good-hearted way. The older sister, at 12, our only gold swimmer is going to play basketball only next year, instead of splitting between. And the middle one Warren, earned our Spirit of the Otter Award; 10 going on 40. Mature, persistent, disciplined. Always went the extra mile; in fact, stayed 15 minutes late one Monday practice just to prove to himself that he could swim a mile (1650 yards, with flippers) like some of the older RL kids did at a meet the Saturday earlier (no flippers though). Very serious, but I think he liked the little trophy (all of them got medals around their necks.)

The two silver sisters, who are growing up on a farm and whose mother swam where she came from, didn't come to the banquet tonight. It's about 15 miles from Barron, but I'm not sure how far out of town they are. The judge's daughter, (nope not Becky Thatcher), was there; our Most Improved swimmer who came the first week in a two-piece was not. If I'd had the quick sense, since there were no names on the trophy, I might have re-awarded it. Next year, maybe we can call the parents ahead to let them know if the child is getting the award.

Best of all really -- it was a potluck. I think potlucks can either be not to one's liking (if you prefer to stick to familiar dishes) or wonderful!, like 50 offerings of something home-cooked. Now they couldn't rent the Masonic Lodge this year as it was booked, so we met in the one of the Lutheran Church halls, and you know that just had to make the homemade food taste even better (in a Garrison Keillor sort of way...) Nothing fancy, simple dishes, but the warm cheesy-something casserole, and the dressing on one lady's apple, spinach salad? Out of this world. Lots and lots of desserts (lots of kids, remember), but my choice was the home-baked thick brownie, where the top is cracked a bit, but nevermind asthetics, that's how we homemade them when I was a kid.

To be short, if you ever get an opportunity to help teach/correct/encourage children with a skill you know, take it, I'd advise. Their energy, and fresh happy perspectives (I think Aaron hugged me right after he saw the dessert table actually, so simply joyful they can be and unselfish about sharing) really can be worth it.

Plus, a rainy yesterday morning, and pretty much dreary week (if you like the sun out all the time) has melted our parking lot clear of ice and snow. I went around picking up revealed trash one morning in the small parking lot; Mal taught me that at an apartment in Madison years ago. At first I was like, "Why me pick up some neighbor's litterings? Let the landlord do that." But then I came to see, for the quarter hour it takes, you get to look at a clean lot, for a time anyway, and I think people are less likely to litter when they see someone, a neighbor, stooping with a glove and plastic bag to pick things up. Depends on the character I guess; sometimes it helps, some people remain oblivious to their surroundings. We've got a lot of young kids/couples just-starting-out renters in the building over (the Nunn House), but I have high hopes for them. Most of what I picked up too, was under the now melted snow piles, so you never know if that stuff wasn't from neighbors but came in with the plows.

Tonight, it rained a little bit more. The river's are rising; the spring is a coming.