I finished swimming my laps at the indoor pool at Winter Park Florida YMCA. As I was leaving, my attention was attracted by the howls of a very young child. She was wailing and clutching her mother's sweater as as the mother tried to pass the baby to a swim instructor already in the pool. The swim instructor is a young woman in her early twenties with a blond pony tail, wearing a blue wet suit. The mother finally pries the baby loose and passes her to the instructor.
Above you see the first paragraph of the essay. The essay continues to describe the baby's swimming lesson. As I watch, the baby begins to learn to swim despite screaming her head off. I imagine how these lessons might one day save her life.
© Catherine Giordano 2011
