Swimming Without a Bubble

We decided that we needed to get out of the house yesterday in order to avoid going stir crazy. Helena and I went to the pool where I go swimming in the morning. At the pool we met a three-year-old who was swimming without a bubble or any kind of flotation device. Helena decided that there was no way a three-year-old should be able to do something better than her. So we started practicing our swimming without a bubble.

We must have practiced our kicking and scooping for at least half an hour and she refused to quit or even take a rest. She was so determined to swim from the steps to the first lane line (about 8 feet) that she would not be denied. I was so incredibly proud of how hard she was trying that I actually didn’t even care if she made it to the lane line. But she obviously did care. After all that time she finally made the swim all the way over despite sinking under the water at least three times and bouncing back up. At one point she even had some terrified bugeyes that pleaded, “daddy pick me up”, but I encouraged her to just try a couple more strokes to make it all the way over and she did and we yellled with excitement. I was so proud of her, and even better, she was so proud of herself. It was one of those great parenting moments that I hope I never forget.