The Deep Blue Sea

Kids are astounding.

When my son was 3, we tried to get him to swim. Specifically, we tried to get him to dunk his head under and go down the "froggy slide", two accomplishments we thought a 3-year old should be able to handle. (The froggy slide, by the way, is a short 2-foot slide that lands you in 2-feet of water. It is shaped like a frog. You slide down its tongue and out of its mouth. Kinda disturbing, now that I describe it to a third party.)

Anyway, my son said he'd be glad to dunk his head and go down the slide....just as soon as he turned 5. No amount of cajoling could convince him to change his mind. That whole summer, he was perfectly happy just walking around the knee-deep section of the pool.

Over the winter he turned 4, and the next summer we again tried to get him to swim. Once again, he promised to when he was 5. We looked at each other knowingly, realizing in our infinite parental wisdom that he was simply stalling for time and that the next summer he'd delay it another year.

This summer *is* the next summer. Weather turns nice. We announce we're going to the pool; enthusiasm from the kids. We look at each other with a smirk. Can't wait to find out what the excuse is. Pack the towels, bathing suits, change of clothes, swimmies (they go around the kid's arm and keep him afloat), raft, inner tube, water bottles, grapes, crackers, and a book for Dad. Head to the Y, unload and head for the pool. Drop the stuff off and....hey! Where's my son?

"Look, Mom!", comes the yell. And he goes down the slide. And dunks his head. Time after time, all day. And the next, and the next. Just as he told us he would.