Twenty Days to Deep Water

​My three year old is taking swimming lessons at the local YMCA.   I love this pool.   All kinds of people.  All levels of skill.    The past two Saturday mornings I’ve hauled out of bed earlier than I like on Saturdays and my girls and I have gone down to the Y.

The little one is learning how to blow bubbles in the water and alligator crawl across the pool.  She’s holding onto floating barbells and kicking on the side of the pool.    She keeps giving strange looks to the one little boy who is crying on the sideline.    The little miss is easy to read.   Hope his parents aren’t watching.  She’s not subtle.

Her big sister is swimming laps over in the lap pool.  She had to take a test to qualify to swim in the deep water.   She was nervous.  She passed.  Down and back.   Kick.  Straight.   Down and back.
This week I sat on the sideline in one of those plastic stackable chairs.  The chair had a crack along the back.   Whenever I leaned back I fell slowly back through the chair.  I would try for good posture sitting.  I’d forget.   Fall back though the back of the chair.  Disconcerting.

My baby was kicking and splashing.  My big one was tunneling through laps.  Down and Back.   I was watching both of them and surprising myself repeatedly with the strange bendable plastic chair.   Good way to spend 30 minutes on a Saturday morning.

Made me think.  Swimming lessons are fun.  Splashing around in the shallow end certainly gets us used to the water.   Get the feel for things. Safe and secure.  Lots of eyes watching.  Minimal risk. Lap swimming in the deep water lanes is harder.   Better at building muscle though.   Still plenty of life guards.
Some of you know that I’m working on a new venture.    I’m launching a new blog called Quirky Faith.  I’ve got a new website, email subscription software, photo shoot and a PO Box all lined up.   I’ve got some guest bloggers and some give aways.  I’m calendered up.

Right this very second I feel like I’ve graduated from the kiddie pool and swum past the lap pool.   I feel like I’m standing on the cliff above the ocean like one of those deep water ocean divers.   Peering down 100 feet to deep water.   Wondering what is under the water and what is out past the horizon.   The ocean is deep.
Mark Batterson says that if your dream doesn’t scare you it isn’t big enough.   I’m terrified.  And very excited.  Scarecited.

www.QuirkyFaith.com launches on July 1st.   Twenty Days.    Swim Baby.