Swimming (Gala) Surprise

It had been several months since we all went swimming (October '08, just before start of winter) and, at that time, Vivian was far from being the mermaid she craves to be. She'd be very clingy and not comfortable being alone in the water even though she'd love wading around in it. In school, however, they kept up with their weekly swimming classes coming up to the Swimming Gala last 10th of March.

The swimming gala, much like Sports Day, is another event/competition for the houses. So, the competitive atmosphere was revved up by the cheers and (playful) jeers of the children (and the parents) during the houses parade and the ceremonies hoopla. Interesting side note, the siblings of the players in the other year levels were excused from their classes and were allowed to cheer for their houses (siblings generally belong to the same house) so that made for a more festive atmosphere - and, well, fostered the familial support system which I thought was very cool.

Vivian was the third in Green Ghubra lineup for the first set of Front Crawl races (which we more commonly refer to as freestyle). The first set had participants who could opt for swimming aids...ie floaters, noodles, etc....so, naturally we expected to see Viv don her noodle or board. MUCH to our surprise, the girl coolly went down to her spot on pool without any aid. The wife and I stared at each other and I took my spot poolside for videographer duty. When the whistle blew, Vivian lunged and floated on the water and started freestyling. What-The-?? My mouth dropped and I lost my wits - as is evident in the video - her strokes were strong and her legs were paddling furiously. It took me a few seconds to recover and by the time I corrected the shot, she rose up and was gasping for air but went back into the water quickly. She rose up about two more times before she finished last in the heat - BUT only because a couple of others were using aids and didn't have to dunk their heads in the water. She reaches the pool edge and casually pulls herself up off the water onto the edge as if it was the most natural thing to do and that what she just completed was so unremarkable. She was so blasé about it, she just fixed her hair and walked back to the Green camp. I was stunned but, at the same time, blabbering in tagalog like an idiot to my wife who was equally dumbfounded.

It didn't matter that Vivian was last in that heat or that Green placed only third overall- she had already won - she won over her fear of the water. Of course, it wasn't that particular time she won over her fear, but for us - the moment she lunged-in was particularly poignant. Sooo sappy, I know, but the feeling was just indescribable. She's not yet the mermaid but I guess she's getting there.