Friday, August 03, 2007

Friday Flashback


Cute Boyfriend passed his Level One swimming test today. (Or maybe Brad just couldn't bear the thought of the young anarchist in his class next time.)

I did not learn to swim the way every other child in my family did. Big surprise there, huh? I was most definitely the odd duck in that family. I think I still am. Every summer, right after school got out at the end of June, we'd pack up for a couple of weeks of camping. No, not hiking into the wilderness camping, hooking the Coleman popup to the back of the station wagon and heading into the family section of Pinery Provincial Park on Lake Huron "camping". We took our chances with what was available, but only because the reservation system wasn't in place yet.

Walking across the dunes to the beach was our daily constitutional, and we spent all day in the sun and water. I'm sure it did, but I never remember it raining.

To teach us to swim, dad would stand out in shoulder deep water and the kids would climb onto his shoulders and dive in. I never did, not once. I knew how to get myself to where I wanted to be in the water, so why risk a belly flop or getting water up my nose? I loved the water, I had to be dragged out. Boyfriend's the same way. However, I can't imagine he'll be doing any shoulder diving anytime soon either.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

YAY Daniel!!
I absolutely refused to complete my Level One swimming test and played the anarchist myself many, MANY moons ago. Sat on the bench in my bathing suit next to mom resolutely shaking my head "no" every time somebody tried to coax me into the pool. So I never actually became a graduate of Level One, or Tadpoles or whatever lingo they were using in those days...though, like you and mama, I was a real water baby!! I guess I was just not willing to let any of those boneheads evaluate my swimming skills. Way to go though!!! Congrats!!!

Rian said...

I am not much for swimming now, but when I was a kid I was like a Labrador Retriever. You couldn't keep me out of the water. We had a big muni pool and the goal was to try to get bragging rights by going every day. There was little else to do in summer.

I learned to swim at the Y. I don't remember tests.

QuiltingFitzy said...

I remember going out to the island to swim as the lake really had no nice beach. 'Course I swam in my undies, lol...who needs a suit in the middle of the lake, haha.