MadHatter learned to swim a couple of weeks ago. I mean, really swim. We have been waiting for this day for a long time. We took lessons for awhile, when we lived in the U.S. And then we moved South and we moved from Spring to Fall and then Winter. And it wasn't so much the season as it was the fact that we didn't know where to take her for swim lessons. And then we were spending our time trying to settle, learn a new language and start school. It kept moving farther and farther down my list of priorities. Which is funny, since I am such a freak about kids and water. 26% of all unintentional deaths of children under the age of 5 are from drowning. 26%. That statistic freaks me out. I have always been super vigilant about my girls in the water. And now, I am even more vigilant because, a couple of months ago, MadHatter learned to swim.
"More vigilant," you ask, "but she learned to swim".
Yep, because now that she can swim, she doesn't wear floaties. She thinks she is invincible and I know she is not. I watch her like a hawk...and she loves that. She loves it.
I watch her every move. I watch each jump. Each stoke. Each breath.
I don't watch her so much because I think something will go wrong. I watch her because of everything she has done right. She did this. On her own. Without lessons. Without us telling her she had to. She did this because she felt it was time and that she could.
That makes me feel like we have done something right. That makes my heart smile!
MadHatter - swimming...And she is doing the breast stroke, the freestyle and the doggy paddle!
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