time flies, swimming edition

Charlie has always been a bit timid about some things.

Like learning how to do laundry.

But seriously, he rode his all terrain trike until he was nearly seven. He really liked that trike.

Swimming was another one of those situations. His first year of preschool, he sat on the edge of the pool for the entire year when it was time for swimming. Swimming lessons did nothing to encourage him to jump in, so we canceled them.

He had no interest in going to the pool when he was younger. We did go to Lake Elmo, he would gladly sit in the shallows and play in the water.

A few years ago, he went to a day camp at the University of St. Thomas for a week in July. Part of the camp was Red Cross swimming lessons each afternoon. I don't know what was in that water, or who the magicians were who taught him, but he suddenly became a fish, and loved to swim.

The last several years, I have been bringing him to the pool so he could have fun. Not a fan of sitting around all afternoon in a swimsuit, I longed for the day when he didn't need me to bring him to the pool anymore. Unless his cousin Riley was in town, and I could hang out with Heather at the pool too.Fast forward to today. I dropped him and his very good buddy Austin (the wonderful young man who 'hangs out' with him when Mike and I have date night) at the pool for the afternoon. And they had the best time. And I got my work done during the day (instead of having to work early in the morning or late at night like I used to have to do on our pool days).

And it won't be long, and he will be jumping on his bike, with his towel draped around his neck and his friends urging him to hurry up, and he will pedal off to spend the day at the pool unsupervised. And there will be young girls in bikinis hoping to catch his eye.

Criminy. I'm not quite ready for that yet.