Whale Riders

It was, unexpectedly, a perfect summer day yesterday, despite a hurricane roaring past us on its way to Newfoundland and unstable thunderstorms threatening but never materializing. That, and the party we had planned to go to but were a bit nervous about attending cum children went splendidly.

It started immediately upon arrival at the lakefront house on several acres of pine-tree dense land: the kids and I spotted a fairy house at the base of one of the trees, complete with paperdoll fairy. We felt right at home immediately. There was also a children's playhouse in the woods, with little wagons that we used to gather materials for our own fairy house: acorns, bark, big pine cones, pine needles, and lots of things we don't have in our yard with which to build. And so, while Mama mingled with her co-workers (for it was a non-work party hosted by a colleague), the kids and I played in the woods.

And then, after eating some, we headed down to the lake, which is a beautiful, private lake surrounded by such dense forest that only docks are visible to indicate that other houses were nearby. Some of the party guests were sunbathing, others were paddle-boating, and some were swimming.

Which is when my kiddos, who'd tested the water by dipping their toes off the floating dock, decided that they too wanted to swim. And not just wade at the shore (which we tried first) where it was rocky and sandy. No, they wanted to swim off the end of the dock like all the big people. Except we weren't prepared for that. Never in a million years had we expected that they'd want to swim so we hadn't brought a thing. After some ascertaining that they were indeed serious and set on swimming, Mama raced home to get our things, and came back (though Mama doesn't have a swimsuit so it was only me in the water with the kids).

And we swam. I was in the water astride a noodle, which is a magical, buoyant foam thing that would hold me upright out of the water so I wasn't purely treading (the lake was 40' deep not far from shore and even before the end of the dock). The kids took turns, in the only small life preserver there. Bud "swam" facing me, astride what he called "the french fry," hugging my neck and beaming with pride and happiness. Sis "swam" facing outwards, grasping the noodle to "steer" us where she wanted to go; I never really saw her face but pictures show her exuberant. Neither really liked when I would spin us in circles, though Sis liked bobbing up and down. She also liked to go farther out in the water, asking to swim all the way across, which I patently refused. On one of her turns, Sis begged to use the inflatable whale toy, which had been one of the enticements into the water in the first place--so she climbed on top and bobbed up and down for a bit, looking every bit in command of that whale and the whole lake! Between children, while Mama was switching out the life preserver, I would float and relax, practically meditating in the still, cool (though all these Yankees said it was warm. Compared to the icy Atlantic perhaps, but not the bathtub warm Gulf) water. We did this for about an hour, the last ones swimming. Then I floated while they got dressed and they brought me a towel so we could all grab something to eat together.

It was something I thought we'd never do, something I never would have done on my own (in a swimsuit! in front of people! ones I didn't know! in a lake! where I couldn't see! much less touch!). But it was perfect. Really made the whole day. And was an experience I will always remember. Kids certainly pull you outside of your comfort zone. And that can be a really great thing.