Swimming has been a part of my life since my infancy. In Poland, our village had a great big pool that was the place to be. My dad was a phenomenal swimmer and was well known as such. He'd bring me to the pool all the time. One day, my dad asked a friend to hold me while he dove. The friend decide to toss me in the pool. For funsies, I guess? Polish people are drinkers, so I'm going to assume the friend was not thinking clearly.
It was no big deal, apparently I popped my little baby head out of the water and swam to safety. Of course, I don't think that it's earth shattering because I think babies have a natural inclination to swim. I mean, what do you think they are doing for 9 months before birth?
Anyway, we bought a house with a pool in Detroit and as soon as I was old enough, dad started teaching me all the strokes. When I was in fifth grade, I was part of the Westland YMCA stingrays. My coach, Eddie, was awesome. And he made me awesome. I remember him pulling me to the side and saying I was a natural. Sadly, I would have such awful sports asthma, that I would quit competitive swimming until high school.
To this day, I am 100% comfortable in the water. I love swimming still and one day hope to get into the habit of getting in some laps in the morning (I'm already dreading getting lapped by senior citizens). Though I wasn't able to be a great competitor in the water, I love being surrounded by it. I'm not afraid of opening my eyes. I'm not afraid of large bodies of water. I'm completely and utterly in love with the water. I thank my dad for that.
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