Our Little Fish*

Our February weather has been fluctuating from 5-40 degrees so we decided it was the perfect time of year for Reese to start Swimming Lessons! One of many "firsts" to come, I'm sure. I was a tad nervous because our confirmation letter said "parents must leave the pool area during the lesson". Leave the pool area? Leave my baby, who's water exposure has mainly been limited to our bathtub thus far, with a complete stranger, in a class full of other kids, in an olympic size drowning hazard?!?!

Again, I'm sure these types of things will come easier with time. When I take Drue to swimming lessons down the line, I'll be more comfortable as I drop her off with her teacher then confidently march back by all the other parents, dropping their kids off for the first time with a look of uncertainty on their faces. And by the time Tate takes lessons, I'll probably just toss him out my car window right into the deep end, as I smile and wave yelling, "I'll be back in a bit sweetheart".

It did feel a little strange taking Reese swimsuit shopping in sub zero weather. And this is the first year she and Drue won't have matching little swimsuits. That was a hard practice to let go of. I was hoping I could keep them in matching outfits at least until it was time for them to start picking out Prom dresses. The only reason Reese picked the suit she did, was because it had a cute little matching cover up that, as you can see, is a DRESS! She wore her suit a whopping 30 minutes one evening right after we bought it and promptly lost the top part when she took it off! I refused to rush right out and buy a new one because I was sure the old one would turn up. Days came and went...no suit. So I ended up having to rush out the night before lessons and buy a new one! I halfheartedly warned her, "This is coming out of your allowance" to which she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Ok". (She doesn't even get an allowance yet). Incidentally, she was quite disappointed that she had to wear sweats over her suit and dress to go to her lesson.

From what I could see, fighting my way through the other parents pressed up against the 3 inch wide window, she did fine. There were 2 teachers keeping track of about 10 kids, so I was able to breathe a small sigh of relief.

David practically grew up in the water and won ribbons for swim team. So he was pretty excited to hear all about it when we got home. He bombarded Reese with question after question and was a bit surprised when she exclaimed, "Daddy...I dived!". Of course, he was picturing a head first plummet into the water, however, her version of a "dive" was holding on to the side of the pool and dipping her little blond ponytails just under the surface when her teacher said, "1---2---3---DIVE!".

*Whenever we would visit our Grandparents growing up and would return from the pool, my Granddad would say, "Well, did you swim like a fish?". Now I have my very own little fish and I think he'd be pretty proud of her.