Monday, July 9, 2007

Go ahead, jump in!

My kids are in the middle of their summer swimming lessons and for some reason watching them in their lessons gives me such huge surges of heart swelling love!!
Every summer I enroll them in swimming lessons for the first two weeks and every summer I'm hit with this feeling as I sit on deck watching them.
Is it that they seem so vulnerable in their near nakedness struggling and never giving up in their attempt to master the art of staying afloat?
There's something about seeing my kids in bathing suits all bony and skinny, wet hair plastered to their foreheads winning this battle lesson after lesson.
Is it that they send quick glances my way every few seconds to see that I'm watching them, then quickly look away like they don't care that I am?
Is it that I know my son is terrified in the deep dive tank yet jumps in like he's told to and says to me later " Mom, I was shaking but I'm really good at treading water."
Is it that my daughter swims effortlessy, doing the front crawl like you wouldn't believe, yet at 3yrs of age she adamantly refused to put even her chin in the water at the toddler lessons?
Swimming lessons are different than other sports. There's no protective gear, no team mate to pass it to, no position that you're better at so that's where you stay. It's you against the pull of gravity....sink or swim.... and they win the game everyday at that pool. Man they're cool!

1 comment:

Mika Ryan said...

Just be grateful that they aren't figure skaters....imagine the stress!