Little One #1 steps to the edge of the pool and without hesitation leaps into the water.
His arms outstretched, he executes a perfect 10 for a belly flop.
If it hurt, he didn’t show it.
The instructor tells him to try and swim he length of the pool.
Daytime Dad, with Little One #2 in his arms, waits in the shallow end.
Little One #1 flails his arms and thrashes the water like a hooked fish resisting capture.
But Daytime Dad isn’t concerned about form, not yet anyway.
For now, the goal is simple: Just make it from one end of the pool to the other.
Little One #1, now five, first took swimming lessons with Daytime Dad when he was 10 months old.
Hard to believe.
Daytime Dad, who got Little One #2 in the pool when she turned six months, is equal parts awed and impressed with how far Little One #1 has come.
He remembers holding him in his arms when floating was about all the little guy could do.
Daytime Dad remembers wondering what it would be like to see Little One #1 swim on his own.
Those days arrived months ago, yet it’s still a surreal experience today.
Little One #1 digs at the water like he’s scooping sand from a box. His goggles partially shield excited eyes.
He makes eye contact with Daytime Dad, which triggers an dogged determination to swim faster.
“Keep going,” Daytime Dad says.
Little One #2 claps.
“Her day will come,” Daytime Dad thinks.
Little One #1 swims closer and his brow creases.
Daytime Dad knows he’s debating whether to stand or not.
“Don’t stand,” Daytime Dad says. “You can do this.”
He doesn’t (stand) and he does (make it).
“Excellent job!” Daytime Dad yells. “You did it.”
It’s a quite a feat, and the moment isn’t lost on Little One #1, who is beaming with pride.
“I did a good job?” he asks.
“You did an amazing job,” Daytime Dad responds.
Little One #1 smiles and jumps in the water.
It’s clear he grasped the sense of accomplishment.
It’s a moment, Daytime Dad thinks, that will forever stay with both of us.