Little Waterwomen

Today was Nutmeg's last day of swimming lessons at the public pool, and she received a certificate saying she has passed Preschool Level I. That's the understatement of the year, in my (obviously biased) opinion. In the last week, I have watched my 4-year-old throw herself at the bottom of the pool to pick up plastic ring after ring, without even using her goggles. Last year in Preschool Swimming I, didn't want to get her face wet. Same kid.

But today took the cake, and it kills me that I didn't grab the camera that was -- quite unusually -- sitting in my bag. Nutmeg jumped off the diving board! This was like their commencement ceremony, and wouldn't it be great if all such ceremonies included a jump into a pool? Cap, gown and all? Sort of melding all those secular and religious sacraments into one good dunk?

But anyway, the kid jumped off the diving board to her teacher, bobbed right up and accepted a little help getting her bearings before hauling her tiny booty over the side of the pool to get in line again. I was speechless. And -- in case you were wondering -- not all the Preschool I kids were brave enough to try the diving board. Let alone twice.

Pebbles, of course, would not be outdone. The baby who clung to me and cried at the very sight of the pool at the gym this winter toddled right into the zero-depth end of the public pool, and insisted on walking all over the shallow end, even -- repeatedly -- trying to tackle the slope that would have put the water over her head. You see, there was an inflatable boat shaped like a car over there in the deeper water. Not only that, but Pebbles delivered an encore: She said the word "boat," and, AND ... she wore her sunhat for more than 5 seconds.



At the end of our little weekend get-away (funny that it didn't feel like a get-away at all, maybe cause my JOB is taking care of two little kids, and somebody said they could COME ALONG???) , I felt like trading in these kids for cocker spaniels. Today, I feel like having half a dozen more.

Quick, somebody stick some Norplant in my arm before my husband gets home!