Swirling

Last night my family and I went to Euclid Beach Park in order to frolic in the water and get some fresh air. The trick was, finding the dag-gone place. It took us an hour to drive what amounts to about a 12 miles. But, on the way home, I found a more direct route and you can bet we will be returning with less trouble next time.

It was such a joy to float in the water and hear the waves and seagulls, without the fear of caustic salt water attacking my eyes, nose and tastebuds or of vicious sea monsters having a go at a favorite extremity. I helped Riley into the lake and held her in my arms and walked slowly, part-way submerged so that she was practically weightless. Occaisionally I would do a deep knee bend and get us wet up to the shoulders. We were entertained by the gaggle of geese not 50 feet from us as well as the many children swimming and playing and screaming at each other.

I thought about how I might teach her to swim. I tried explaining basic kicking technique, but she just kicked wildly. So, I tried to think back further. What first got me delighted and interested in swimming? It was this: Being held by my Mom or Dad under the arms and being swung around in the water from side to side, while they said "Whee!" The pleasure of water rushing over my skin and the rush of moving faster than I was capable of under my own power combined and I never wanted to get out of the water. Also, being close and having fun with my parents made me feel safe and unafraid, which is key to success in swimming, or anything, I guess.

So I started swirling her back and forth and around and around and her face lit up. As a parent, I believe I enjoyed it as much as she did. For me now, I got to enjoy holding my three year old for as long as she wanted, since her weightessness was not a strain on my body. I also got to feel the joy of the water again, cool and refreshing. The sound of the waves and my child's peals of glee made me want to burst into song. We have found a summer activity that we can both agree on and enjoy.

Sadly, our first swirling lesson was cut short as mother nature chose to interfere again. I began to hear thunder and could see rain clouds rolling in from the West Side. South of us, lightning began to strike. I decided reluctantly to lead us out of the water. We joined Shawn and Lucy on the beach blanket and got dressed as he gathered our things and collapsed our beach umbrella. The wind picked up and we beat feet back to the Jeep.

We made it home without ever seeing the storms that blew through, but we did see what it left behind: flash floods, downed tree branches, and our poor backyard pavillion was knocked over and wounded like a fragile, reconstructed T-Rex skeleton in the back yard. But, it was nothing a little duct tape can't repair and I'll take my 30 minutes of joy at the beach and leave it at that. After all, nobody likes a whiner.