Little fishy

Anika had her first swim lesson yesterday.

A friend of mine who was a lifeguard through high school and college had volunteered her services, and she and her two kids came over to swim and get Anika used to how the pool feels without wearing her very pink floaties that keep her safe and afloat and basically self-sufficient in the water.

I was terrified. Anika was a bit unsure, but took that first leap off the steps into Angela's arms without much hesitation, in true Ani fashion, and about three jumps later she had had enough.

"I'm going to jump from back there" - pointing to the opposite side of the pool, where the fountain is - "and swim to you, Miss Angela," she announced, climbing out of the pool and running to her stated starting point. Angela stood guard right below her. Anika glared.

"You want me farther back?" Angela asked.

"Go to the stairs - I can swim to you," Anika announced.

Skeptical but intrigued, we both watched as she leaped into the water, semi-dive and semi-belly flop, with her hair waving around on top of the water as she proceeded to swim, underwater and quite fast, all the way to where Angela was standing, a few steps from the stairs. She came up, gasped for air, and beamed.

"This is going to be a bit easier than I thought," said Angela.

Shit, I said.

And that is the story of how Anika, our little fishy, learned to hate wearing floaties. Every attempt in the pool since has been replete with bribes and featuring at least 30 minutes of our little half-pint jumping into the water and furiously kicking and moving her arms as she swims underwater, unassisted.

Reni, for his part, is content to watch at this point (thank goodness!) He can mimic the arm movements and proudly shows how you should keep your fingers together and make a little cup to push the water away. He paddles around quite happily, moving at a nice enough clip that he doesn't care if his sister is going sans protection. He is getting quite brave, however, jumping in on his own and submerging his head under water for several seconds without complaint.

What did I expect, really, with them having 24/7 access to the pool?