Misty Water-colored Memories

This week has been Jackson's first week of Preschool Swimming Lessons. They are Monday through Thursday evening at the local rec center. The pool is indoors and it is one happenin' place. There are 5 classes of preschool lessons, 2 or 3 classes of school-age children, a class for water babies and their parents, and a full class of water aerobics ladies. Add to that a hoard of parents, some miscellaneous swimmers and a multitude of lifeguards. And what does an indoor pool become when it is over 100 degrees outside for more than 20 days straight? A sauna! But Jackson is having an absolute blast. He spends most of the lesson bouncing up and down like a fisherman's bobber. And in 2.5 feet of water he is fearless, going under the water over and over. I would show you pictures, but from the parents' balcony I can't get anything that doesn't have extreme camera shake. Maybe next week.

Watching Jackson's swimming lessons brings back lots of memories for me. When I was about Jackson's age, I had a little water scare at a German swimming pool. The end result of that was that when we were back in the States, my mom signed me up for so many swimming lessons that my dad refers to it as my PhD in swimming. More Saturday mornings than not were spent at the downtown YMCA. My cartoon watching was seriously impaired. The Y's swimming lesson report cards at that time divided you into groups with cute amphibian life-cycle related names. I can only assume that I had to keep going back because I couldn't make it past Tadpole. The culmination of the whole process was the Flying Fish class. This little enclave of water sprites was led by a formidable force named Mary who appeared to me to be a screaming, whistle-blowing flurry of arms. She was a terrifying tower of a woman and I was all too happy to stay on my side of the floating dividers.

I am glad to say that this could not be further from Jackson's experience. There is nothing but fun going on in that pool. There's even mandatory splash time. May he grow into a fantastic fish. Maybe a marlin.