Swimmingly

I was deathly afraid of being underwater, though I intensely enjoyed being in the water. I could hang out in a bathtub full of water for hours, much to the consternation of other household members who wanted to use the bathroom. When we had a swimming pool I loved being in it (in summer weather, of course). I remember being dunked (sometimes on accident, sometimes because someone decided to be mean to me) and really hating the experience of water closing up around my head. Eventually I grew tired of hanging around the edges of the pool while everybody else enjoyed use of the entire thing, so I decided to teach myself to swim underwater. It took some time, patience, and courage on my part, but over the course of a summer I had done it. Not only that, I discovered (by accident) that I could open my eyes underwater and thus enjoy it so much more. I was quite proud of myself, and rightly so. A whole new underwater world had opened up to me, and I was no longer an “outsider” in the pool.