swim

And then I have moments when I think: I can do this. And: okay, maybe I am a mommy.

Lilly and I went to the YMCA after school today. We nabbed a lap lane. I did my slow lazy laps, frequently with a kickboard assistance. And she played, played, played - doing flips, swimming to the bottom, following even more lazily after me on the laps... The lifeguards didn't seem to mind, even though these lanes are clearly designated for lap swimming. Probably because it wasn't very crowded, and she was sort of making her way from one end of the pool to the other, so what are they going to say?

Lilly borrowed my goggles. I bought them a few years ago when I thought I might get serious about swimming and then didn't. However, they are very useful for nine-year-olds who want to swim to the bottom and look up through the water at the overhead lights. After getting a goggle-eye full of water a few times, she came over for help.

So we stood together in the shallow end, me adjusting the goggles' nose piece, adjusting the strap, her trying them on, dunking her head, until we got the right fit. And standing there in the shallow end with the goggles in my hand and my little girl bobbing in front of me I thought: Okay, I can do this. And: I feel a little like a mommy.