The End

Friday was Sabine's last swimming lesson. Introducing wild child to the water was so awesomely fun for so many reasons:

1 She was so afraid during her first lesson that she clung to me like a newborn wet kitten. But during the last lesson, she jumped off the edge and into the pool four times and kept pushing me away to try and swim even though she has absolutely no idea how to actually swim.

2 Like Sabine, if you do something often enough, you're less afraid or hate it less--like maybe wearing your bathing suit in public in front of a hundred people after you've had a baby and are not as young as you used to be.

3 I only ditched one lesson! I suffer from chronic ditching disease. I ditched a lot of high school and college. And as an adult, whenever I've signed up for any class (sewing, screenwriting, Spanish, photography), I ditched at least half of them, which means that I still have no idea how to sew, write a screenplay, speak Spanish or use my camera if it's not set to "auto."

4 After the last lesson, we went to the neighboring park, where Sabine tried to play in the sandbox with two little boys. One boy said, "You are not our friend. Leave. We don't want to play with you." I breathed fire at him then uttered a few threatening words, before realizing that even mean little children have parents, who are probably mean, too. But luckily, this booger's parents were nowhere insight.

5 Sabine was so tired after each lesson that she took three-hour naps every Friday. I wish we had a pool.

6 I finally have a nice little tan that was basically free and makes me look like I went somewhere other than just down the street.

7 I discovered that this lipstick stays on even in the chlorine-filled pool.

8 I let go of having straight hair, dunked my head underwater and rocked my Chaka Kahn afro without caring how I looked.

9 I'm happy to report that Sabine is still little enough to fit in a locker, where she would hide and keep herself busy while I changed and organized our stuff. Sometimes I wish she would stop growing and stay this size forever so I can hold onto her and continue to hold her, too.

10 The same seventy-something-year-old woman would always talk to us in the locker room, while she was naked, making me VERY uncomfortable. But I'm happy to report that gravity has been very kind to said old lady in her old age and now I think there's hope for all of us.

11 There was one time when Sabine jumped into the water and I let her head go under a little. She hates getting her face wet. When she resurfaced, she didn't cry, but growled three times in the most hilarious, from the gut way. I think she's more monster than she is princess. Phew.

12 Sabine wore her beautifully curly hair down for the very first time and it was so deliciously cute that I wanted to take a bite right out if her.

Post lesson popsicle.

Yum.