Sink or Swim

This week’s throwback Thursday post from https://lssattitudeofgratitude.wordpress.com/author/lssattitudeofgratitude/ is about learning to swim.

When I was about five, I got pushed in the swimming pool by two boys. I couldn’t swim. Luckily, I was pulled out of the pool, but learning to swim frightened me after that. I didn’t like swallowing the water, or not being in control of being safe.

I was eight when I learnt to swim, but never really went past the shallow end. I have a certificate somewhere for walking in the water. It is a little strange, but at least I was in the water. Even when I learnt to swim I only ever mastered the doggy paddle (not much better now). The fancy strokes seemed to make me sink faster, so I stick to what I know.

I remember going swimming with my nephew, and watching him jump off the diving board. Me, in my childhood competitiveness, decided I would do the same. Until I managed to trip near the end. A belly flop later, I crashed into the water, my stomach bearing the force of the water. Somehow I managed to swim to the other side, while my nephew was in fits of laughter on the other side.

My daughter is a strong swimmer, and my granddaughter is learning to swim. It is better to learn when they are younger. We are going on holiday in about a month. She wants her to learn the basics before we go. She will probably be a water baby like her mum. Hopefully she won’t be exactly like her, as I still remember her little arms going in for a push, when another child was too slow going down the water slide. If it weren’t for me giving a warning look, she probably would have.

I will still enjoy going swimming, but I rarely swim in the sea because I am not that strong a swimmer. I would struggle with the current. There is lots to do on the beach, and making sandcastles with my granddaughter is one of them.