I heard the yells and the cheers as I finished swimming my lap of the pool and while this would not be unusual if I were in a race, but I was not in a race, so the cheers rang out quite noticeably.

It took me a few seconds to figure out the exact reason for the cheers. It was all for a little three year old girl who just decided that today was the day she was going to swim a complete lap of the pool. So her dad was walking next to her in the water, cheering her on. Then her siblings walked along the side of the pool, cheering her on. Soon the off-duty life guards did the same and then when that little red head popped up at the end of the pool, she smiled so beautifully, her hair kind covering some of her face, out of breath but PROUD. And the cheers continued. Continue reading →