Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Ditching the floaties


When Littlest Ms. was born in 2005 there was no warning about what kind of terror she would bring to my life. Long before her first birthday I had a suspicion that she was part feline. They say cats have nine lives and she had already used almost all of hers. From tumbling down my stairs to having Little Ms. tip a marble table over missing her little head by mere inches it seemed that crisis was just a heartbeat away whenever she was in the house. She went through physical therapy as a baby and claimed a broken hand last year. A CT head scan was done after she fell and hit her head. Unexplained high fevers were common, especially on holidays or weekends.

Two years ago this child decided to sneak away from us to take a swim in the pool with her big sister. Problem: no life jacket. The lifeguard pulled her out coughing and crying. After ten minutes she was back in the pool having a great time. Unfortunately, the memory of that experience continues to haunt both me and Eris.

Bribery works. Last week the proposition was made that when she could successfully swim the width of the pool (30 feet?) by herself I would take her for a milkshake, any flavor, any place, any size. She got her milkshake tonight, chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles.

It is scary to watch her in the pool because she is still learning. Within a month I expect to see her jumping off the diving board and freaking out the lifeguards just like Little did at this same age.

Littlest Ms., congratulations on ditching the floaties!

$2.50 plus a silver dime and a coin from Qatar

3 comments:

Just Casi said...

What a big girl!!

Eris said...

She was thrilled to see her picture on the computer! Thansk for helping her become a little fish just like her brother and sister.

Erstwild said...

Oh my. Kindred spirit to my middle son, who jumped out a second story window when he was 21 months old. A year later, he managed to use a step stool & get to my meds, and took an antidepressant. Funny that he's more timid now at 16.

-Mike H.