Swimming

I was reading a post by Yabu today about swimming and it made me think back. Rather than leave a comment that was 3 pages long, I figured I'd just write it in a blog post.

I actually do not know how to swim, technically. I can doggy paddle, float, and stuff like that to survive..but actually do a breast stroke and swim...not so much.

I was never afraid of the water, though.

As a kid, I was always in the water...at the beach, at the pool. Never learned how to swim. Almost drowned a couple of times too. That is always embarrassing...having the life guard have to rescue you. Even that didn't make me afraid of the water.

In Navy boot camp, one of the things you have to do, no questions..if you don't pass the swim test, you cannot be in the Navy. Makes sense, doesn't it?

The swim test consists of jumping off a 30 foot high dive, treading water for 5 min.,turning your dungarees into a flotation device, and getting yourself down to the other end of the Olympic sized pool..using any stroke. I doggy paddled my way down there. Not the fastest way, but it got the job done.

I knew people who were deathly afraid to make that jump. It's as high as the side of a ship, although, I'm not sure what size ship. I'm pretty sure carriers are a little more than 30 feet tall.

To me, it was easy peasy lemon squeezy, but like I said, I grew up on the water.

I've water-skied, gone tubing with a boat pulling the tube, tubed down a river, spent time in the ocean and numerous pools over the years, and still I don't know how to swim properly.

Now that I'm older, and don't spend my days on the water, I do have a little anxiety. This didn't happen until I had children, though. Realizing that I am probably not the one you want in charge when all the kids are swimming because I don't have the skills to save them if they get themselves in a situation, tends to put a little fear in you.

All of my kids know how to swim except the youngest. He was little when the liner went out in the pool and opportunity hasn't presented itself. It's probably time to take him for lessons, and join him. Water isn't really that scary unless you don't know what to do when you find yourself in a situation.

If you spend enough time on the water, eventually you will find yourself in a situation. It's always good to be prepared.