Why Not

Caroline has always loved to swim. She would jump in and under as a toddler pulling oohs and ahhs from the parents sitting on the edge of the pool. While other interests have come and gone, she has loved swimming always and forever. As a way to keep up her swimming after summer had passed, we decided to try out for our YMCA swim team. Although the practice schedule seemed rigorous, I had heard the 8 and under team was pretty laid back.

And then we got to try outs. There were timers with clip boards, parents with video tapes and talk of hiring personal coaches. My skin was crawling by the time Caroline began to warm up. Within ten minutes she had run out of the pool soaking the grown ups around me as she begged to stop. "I'm just not ready!" she kept saying.

When we walked away from the building, brushing tears from her eyes she asked, "Why do I have to put my swimming to use? Why can't I just swim?"

Why not indeed.