Aqua Men

One summer afternoon when I was 11 or 12, I sat down at the dinner table and nonchalantly announced to my parents that I had earned my swimming patch earlier in the day. This patch, proudly worn at the bottom of  one's swimming suit, was verification for the pool authorities that I had passed a test proving my ability to swim in the deeper water.

My parents looked at me, and then at each other - how in the world had I earned a swimming patch when I couldn't swim? Their confusion, you see, stemmed from the fact that my time in swimming classes had been spent shivering and avoiding water in my face and up my nose, while learning absolutely nothing - not even how to doggy paddle.

But that summer, my best friend and I spent every afternoon at the community pool at Midvale Junior High School, and I wasn't about to hang out splashing around in the shallow end. So, with a little help, I taught myself to swim, and successfully freestyled my way across the length of the pool, spun around and backstroked to the other side, all under the watchful eye of a lifeguard, who jotted my name down on a list attached to his clipboard, and handed me a patch.

There's no chance my boys will surprise me with a deep-water patch one day, they're a couple of fish - Gus especially. I've never seen two kids more at home in the water than mine.

Gus' lessons are in the 9' pool, where he swims around with the confidence of the Man from Atlantis.


















Niko is already easily gliding from the teacher's arms to the safety of the side.

It actually thrills me to see my boys so comfortable in the water because it's so very different from me. My crowning glory earning that patch 35-years ago notwithstanding, I'm still not very secure in water. I'd rather scale the side of a mountain than dip a toe into the drink.

Good thing the boys are are budding Aqua Men!

 

Yes, I took this at a weird angle.