K and I just returned from the Hot Springs where we spent 24 glorious hours soaking and floating in the mountains. Sitting in clear, clean mineral water does something for the soul. It makes mine happy.
It did something for K as well. It turned her into a swimmer.
She’s been in swiming lessons for months, and has done really well following the teacher and putting her head under water to blow bubbles, but she always came up playing with her goggles and adjusting her hair and blowing her nose and rubbing her eyes. I can only take a short time swimming in heavy chlorinated water, but anytime you’ve got lessons for a three year old you’d better chlorinate, (if you know what I mean).
So, we are at the hot springs, and K is jumping in the water and I’m catching her and suddenly she swims under water to me. I wasn’t sure what I saw, or maybe I just wanted to confirm, so I shouted, again and again, and this time I walked a few steps further. She jumped in and swam under water to me – maybe five feet total.
We played this same game for hours, till I was sunburned and K was a swimmer.
She didn’t think about it, didn’t try hard to make it happen, and she certainly didn’t make a lot of notes.
K jumped in and went for it.
She trusted.
Now I understand that she has had some training – some lessons to help her prepare, and the conditions were perfect. Mostly she was having such a good time there wasn’t any other choice but to swim.
Swimming was her natural next step to continue to have a good time – in the moment.
K was fully present. Having fun, following her natural next step, trusting.
And now she’s a swimmer.
