Swim Fan

Wednesday marked my little mermaid's first swim class. I'd gone back and forth on whether or not we should take swim classes all summer. But after I found a fabulous orange floral bikini on sale, I knew it was time to take the plunge.

So we signed up at our nearby Y, which is where my good pal, Dawn, and her son, Ryan, are regulars. Ryan is two weeks younger than Riley and one of her favorite boyfriends. "Class" is not the best way to describe the experience. It's really much more like herding cats, or in this case, wet kittens. Babies of various sizes and levels of fashion consciousness (we were medium and keen) splash around with their parents, mostly moms, under the supervision of a saintly watermarm.

The first lesson was to set the babies up on the edge, tell them to wait and then bring them in. We're supposed to be instilling the idea that the kids will never enter the water without our permission and presence. Ryan had this down pat. Not only did he focus on Dawn sporting his trademark grin all the while, he moved toward her when she signaled him forward. Wow. Riley was so busy looking around, wiggling her toes and pointing at the ceiling, that lesson didn't so much take.

But once we got in the water, I had her complete attention. There was so much to see, splash and squeal about. She was transfixed when I held her close and blew bubbles. We were supposed to be teaching them how to exhale instead of sucking down water. Dawn told me Ryan had yet to master this skill, but he seemed to be giving it his all. And how can you expect a kid to blow bubbles when his face is stretched wide with a huge smile?

Then our watermarm kicked it up a notch by breaking out the rubber duckies. Riley hacked water in her glee. Just when I thought it couldn't get any more exciting (Yes, I know I need to get out more.), Daddy showed up. That's when his side of the pool became the Shamu Splash Zone and Riley's squeals pitched so high I braced myself for falling glass from the shattered windows. I hadn't seen her this excited since her last close encounter with horses. Looks like we'll be doing swimming lessons for a while.