Their First Dip

Image courtesy upload.wikimedia.org. 

Yesterday, we visited my sister-in-law and her family in Long Point for the day.  Given how cool Victoria Day long weekends have been in recent years, I didn't think we would be swimming.  However, Jacqueline insisted on bringing her bathing suit.

Morning dawned cool at Long Point.  The early afternoon started to warm up slowly, but the clouds remained. By mid-afternoon, however, the clouds had dissipated revealing blue skies.  So, first Jacqueline asked if she could get on her bathing suit.  Then her cousins, Kirstin and Aaron, both changed into their swimsuits.  My sister-in-law Ingrid agreed to accompany me and the kids to the beach.

I figured that they would dip their feet into Lake Erie and that would be the end of it.  How wrong I was!  Aaron, the youngest, was content to jump around by the shore.  But Jacqueline and Kirstin made their way into the water, immersing their feet and then their calves and then their thighs.  After a few minutes, Jacqueline dunked her whole body into the water, not once but a few times.  Not to be outdone, Kirstin put her head face first in the water.

Ingrid and I thought back to the days when we used to swim (she in Erie, I in Huron) regardless of the temperature of the water.  It was as if we were invincible, as if our bodies were immune to the cold.  The thrill of that first swim exceeded all else.  Now as adults, we moan and groan.  We're old fuddy duddies.  We can't go in until the lake water reaches the optimum temperature.

After about five minutes in the lake, we called to the girls to come out.  Wrapping themselves in towels, we headed up the beach to the cottage.  Kirstin was running because she wanted to get back before her hair dried to prove to her Dad and the others that she had indeed gone under the water.  I knew that Jacqueline's hair, being quite thick, would take quite awhile to dry.  The girls quickly changed back into their clothes and went back to playing in the sand pit.  Oh, to be young again!

Image courtesy www.lifefamilyeducation.com..