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Our Son Took to Swimming Like a Cat to Water
What I misheard at the pool
It’s a universal truth that raising a child brings regular milestones that are forever treasured. Which parent doesn’t recall with great fondness their child’s first steps and first words? Who doesn’t smile at the recollection of that wobbly ten-yard ride on a bicycle unaided? And who doesn’t sigh in pleasure when viewing those first-day-at-school photos that seem like they were taken only yesterday? Yep, parenting milestones are there to be savoured and revisited time and again for a lifetime.
So it was with some excitement that my wife Heather and I prepared to take our three-year-old son Edmund on a trip that would chalk up one such milestone, his first swimming pool experience.
The youngster was as keen on the idea as we were, and I couldn’t wait to see him frolicking in the pool. Heather and I agreed that familiarizing Edmund with water at an early age would be a great way to instil confidence. Indeed, I had envisaged Edmund overcoming any water-based anxieties he may have had and bravely taking the plunge like he was on a Nirvana album cover. Sadly, this never happened, and it pains me to report that Edmund took to swimming like a cat to water.
Once changed into our swimming costumes, the three of us gathered by the junior pool and I looked…
