My grandchildren and I were in two swimming places today. The first was at the local middle school when I drove them to swimming lessons. The pool was large, hot and humid. Parents, grandparents and siblings sat on bleachers while the children were put into groups by skill. My oldest grandson was in the highest skill level, my granddaughter in the lowest and my other grandson in a group somewhere in between. High school youth and young adults were the instructors. The water was clean and clear but full of chlorine. There were lots of people in and beside the pool, and swimming lessons before and after theirs. Each session was about 45 min. from bell to bell.

This afternoon we all went to a human-made swimming pond nearby. The beach around the pond was sandy; the water was warm and fed by springs of water. The water was clean but not clear and with no chlorine. There were not many people at the swimming hole today and the children and I all played together along with a few other children that joined us. I got to go in the water but was able to get out when I wanted to. There was a lot of silliness for my young granddaughter and a young boy in the pond when we played the “Do not wake the sleeping monster game”. The older boys were fascinated to see small fish under the water and my granddaughter commented that the water did not make her eyes hurt, like in the pool with chlorine.

I mention these two swimming experience since my observation today is that life is like these two places. Sometimes we need to be disciplined and focused to learn something new, like learning how to swim. Sometimes we need to be free, like seeing the water as a place for fun.

As we were leaving the pond my young granddaughter asked if we could come back soon. My older grandsons reminder her that we had other things to do, like soccer games and swimming lessons and could not go back this week. However, I thought to myself that we will return someday to free swimming.

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