Learning to Swim

I don't remember the first time I went swimming but I do remember the first time I think was my first time to go swimming :)

When we lived in Irving, my Mom packed towels and sun tan lotion and took us to a public swimming pool. My brother, sister, and I were excited about going. We all hopped in the car and waited impatiently to arrive.

When we arrived, there were lots of people there. Some were sitting or laying on the edge of the pool. Others were climbing a tall ladder to jump off of a board hovering over the pool. Most of the people were in the pool.

I watched the people climbing the ladder and jumping off. I really wanted to do that and told my Mom as much. She laughed and dismissed it and my brother laughed too. We all got in the pool. I waded in the shallow end and got water in my eyes. I went to where my Mom was with a towel and dried my eyes. I went back out and water got in my eyes again. I went back to my Mom for the towel. I did this several times until my Mom said, "Rub your eyes with your fingers to clear them." I tried that and was amazed it worked. My fingers were wet and so were my eyes but by rubbing my eyes with my fingers, the water in them cleared. I had much more fun after that.

I'm not sure how, but I got away from my Mom and decided to climb the tall ladder to jump into the pool from the board above. It was much taller than it looked from far off. I stayed in line behind the other people. I made it to the first rung and waited to start the long climb. When I got to the middle, I began to get a little scared. I continued climbing though not wanting to be embarrassed climbing back down. I made it to the top, got on top of the board, looked down, and couldn't bring myself to do it. The people behind me were trying to get me to jump but I was so scared I couldn't. I began the long embarrassing climb back down the tall ladder.

If I had jumped off into the pool, I probably would have drowned. Sometimes fear is a good thing. I had never been taught to swim; obviously since this was probably the first time I had ever been in a swimming pool. My Mom was afraid of the water and would stay in the shallow end. My brother had witnessed me at the ladder and told Mom what I was doing. She was upset with me and didn't know whether to spank me or hug me.

My Grandfather had a boat when I was a little older and we went out onto Lake Bonham. This was my first time on a boat. We were made to put on an orange life jacket. When we got out a ways, we threw out the anchor and everyone jumped out. I jumped out and went under the water bobbing back up due to the life jacket strapped to me. I had seen people swim on television and mimicked their actions with the life jacket on and found that I was able to swim from point to point. After a while, I had my Uncle watch me with my life jacket off to see how I did without the life jacket on. I swam under the water which I like doing much more than splashing around on top of the water. I don't like my eyes getting wet so I never open them under the water unless I have a pair of goggles on. That was the day I learned to swim. Well learned enough to keep myself afloat but I doubt I would be able to save someone if I had to keep both of us afloat.

Wearing a life jacket and mimicking swim movements is a good way to learn to swim but you definitely want someone with you when you take the life jacket off. You always want a swim partner when you swim as well. Never swim alone. Never climb a tall ladder to jump into a pool if you don't know how to swim. It's a terrible idea.