This morning Grace and I went off to our first swimming event. It was the annual swimming association event and our swimming instructor encouraged us to go so that Grace can get more exposure to other children swimming and have some fun. For Grace's group the goal was to swim across the width of the pool on a pool noodle and monkey walk (move along the side of the pool with your hands) to have "passed."

I went with zero expectations. I wasn't even sure if Grace was going to get in the pool with a stranger, and I know that she doesn't swim very far on her own. My goal was just to give her some more exposure and whatever we got beyond that was a bonus. Grace not only got into the water, she even swam half way across with some help and then monkey walked along the edge. She was a little edgy before she got in, but once she was on the noodle she was kicking beautifully – she just had a bit of a look like she was about to cry while she was in the water. Once she was out I understood exactly why she had the quivering lip….in her words, "Very cold!" (which she said over and over again while shivering). She mostly swims in indoor pools, so she is not quite used to the shock of the cold outside pool first thing in the morning. Even so, she did amazingly well in the situation and I was very proud of her, and for her efforts she got her first medal 🙂