Splash

Makena's love affair with water began when we she took her first bath with me in Chongqing. As I lowered her into the tub, her eyes were wide and expressing a mixture of shock and pleasure. Until then, she had been expressionless. Her mouth was slightly open and the curves of a smile were forming on her lips. Then quite suddenly she began to thrash and kick her legs in the water. She was so slippery she was hard to hold onto.

It's been two plus years since we brought her home and I have been determined to make her water safe since then. The first session of swim lessons last year, comprised of teaching her to grab the side of the pool if she fell in and of holding her breath. I always new that she could hold it for six to eight seconds so when she launched herself into a hotel pool once, I was counting steamboats on my way to fishing her out when a perfectly coiffed (and fully clothed) woman dove into save her. Err... she was fine but the lady was pissed off by my lack of alarm. Not one of my better days.

This summer, with the help of Makena's swim teacher, she worked on moving through the water. She could almost cross the width of a pool without coming up for air. I didn't know how Makena was going to figure out how to grab a breath, but she did. This is footage of two-year old Makena (a month ago) jumping off the diving board in the deep end. The rest is history.



I'm dreaming of Makena competing in the 2024 Olympics; possibly giving China a run for their money in diving or swimming because this Mei Mei can do anything she sets her mind to.

Is-a-proud.