Chlorine is my family's signature scent

I've had several people ask me lately why I have my kids in swimming.  They wonder why we (DH and I) endure early morning drives to the pool, after work drives to the pool (and sometimes both on the same day), full weekends of either working the deck at swim meets or sitting in the bleachers.  And truthfully, I find these questions understandable but also irritating.  Firstly, I am not the one doing the swimming so what is to be endured? If my DDs are willing to swim at 5:30 am, surely I can drive them there. If my kids are willing to push themselves to enter and race at swim meets, surely I can hold a stop watch to time them or, at worst, sit like a lump on the bleachers to cheer them on.  Admittedly, there are other things I can be doing but there will be many years for that.  My DDs are not swim stars but they are learning about dedication, commitment, and drive.  At the meet this past weekend, DD #2 approached the lane where I was timing to show me that she'd written the national qualifying time on her arm for an event that she hadn't yet made a regional time in.  To motivate her.  Those kind of dreams in a preteen girl are worth every hour spent in the car, on the pool deck, and in the bleachers.  What's a little sleep in comparison?