Water Baby

 When it is cold, when we  all have had our fill of splashing, and playing in the waves. Maya alone remains in the water. She is a self proclaimed water baby, as such one might assume that she swims like a fish......Not quite.
Maya likes to play. Which gets in the way of my plans.

My plan for the children is for them to progress through swim kids and eventually qualify to become life guards. My logic?
-Guarding jobs are more lucrative then the typical cashier/ food service job that is popular among the teen set.
-Sitting in the sun watching children frolic about seems like it might be a tad bit more fun then sweating it out in a camp kitchen for the annual summer job.

Thus, when I went to watch Maya's swimming lessons I was dismayed to see her lack of progress in actual swimming ability. SO I offered her the opportunity to practice at public swim. The opportunity passed her by as no amount of coxing could get her to focus. So I offered her lane swim.
There would be no open slide, no other children, and no fun Daddy to distract her.

I grilled into her lane swim etiquette. There would be no reason for somebody to declare that their admission money was worth any more than hers. I put her in the slow lane, and I went beside her in the medium lane, I knew that I wouldn't get a good swim in as I would be too focused on her.

Then while being trapped behind the same women repeatedly in the medium lane, it occurred to me....
Why was I so worried about Maya? 1/3 of all lane swimmers have absolutely no manners in the pool. They are in the wrong lane, they do not look to see who is coming up, do not allow passing, or have such poor form fellow swimmers have to be on alert for flailing limbs.

Maya felt a little awkward being the only kid there, especially on a four to a lane night. However in the end I am sure she did around 500metres which I am impressed with.