Splish splash

When @smallsteps was around 6 months old we started taking her to swimming lessons where she learned to get comfortable in the water. We continued on for awhile however the school that was running the lessons was not very consistent and kept upping the prices and my wife and I could no longer warrant the expense.

She loves the water though and while last summer she spent nearly every day at the lake beach nearby splashing around, this summer hasn't been anywhere near as warm and she has only had one weekend where she could enjoy the lake. Tonight, we decided to take her to a pool and see if she could pick up where she left off with the classes over two years ago.

We had never been to this place but it was out in a suburb and wasn't very expensive and since we went in the evening, it wasn't very busy either - so perfect for her to splash around undisturbed. They had random equipment around and there was a kid's float device that she could use to get comfortable in the water and even confident enough to be by herself unassisted. She really enjoyed it.

I am hoping that we can continue on taking her around to these places and perhaps one day picking up swimming lessons again as I would like her to be a proficient swimmer as I myself have somewhat of an aversion to water.

The day I "learned to swim", I was left to practice by myself and confidently paddled into water where I could no longer touch the bottom, ran out of energy, splashed, struggled and eventually floated to the bottom with my eyes open - after I succumbed to the inevitability of the moment, I was insanely calm. It was so serene. My state of nirvana was broken by someone who jumped in, pulled me to the side and resuscitated me.

I am hoping that my daughter can swim well enough that she can save herself if the need ever arises. And with my acquatic abilities, she might be able to save me too.

Finland is incorrectly labelled the land of a thousand lakes because in actual fact, there are about 200,000 lakes in the country. This means that when the weather is good, there are plenty of activities and sports around the water here with many people are out on the shores, on the boats and even in the winter when the ice is thin, fishing dangerously.

For some reference, there are about the same number of drownings in Finland as there are in Australia but it is only 1/5th of the population size and Australians tend to live by the water and are surrounded by pools most of the year. I think the difference is that at least when I was growing up in Australia, school swimming lessons and safety were common place. There is a reason that Australia does pretty well in the world of swimming sports.

On a side note, once upon a time I spotted Ian Thorpe at the gym before he went on to win 3 gold and 2 silver at the Sydney Olympic games - you are welcome Ian.

It was nice to get into the water today however, the water was pretty cold and @smallsteps started shivering so I took her into the sauna instead until her cheeks were rosy. Saunas are always more pleasant after doing something active.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]