Brave Little Girl

Abigail has been taking swimming lessons every summer since she was an infant.

At the end of the week they let the kids go off the diving board at the pool. An instructor walks out to the end of the board with them and then drops them into the waiting arms of an instructor in the pool.

Last summer, she went off the three foot board with no protest. We clapped and cheered and then we lost sight of her. We thought she was in line for the three foot board again. Then we heard a collective gasp from the watching parents.

We looked up and saw our teeny-tiny daughter at the end of the ten foot board with her instructor. She was clearly scared, but we yelled encouragement to her. She didn't protest when the instructor dropped her into the pool but she was shaking when she came out of the water. She told us she was scared. We told her she was really brave and we were proud of her.

This year she took a class with one other little girl. Abigail started swimming independently and loved jumping into the pool from the side. After a few days the instructor started letting them jump off the three foot board. Abigail loved it. At the end of the week it was time for the big jump.

I asked Abigail if she was going to jump off the high dive. She said she would. She jumped off the three foot board a few times and then climbed the ladder to the high dive. She walked right out to the end of the board and jumped. She was not shaking when she climbed out of the water.

All I can say is that I never would have jumped off a high dive when I was five. No way, no how.