Sink or Swim.

The smell of fresh cut grass and chlorine burned my nose as I stepped outside and onto the pool deck. “Mimi, let’s go swim!” It was the first day of summer break. I had just gotten out of my fourth grade year of school, and I was beyond excited to be at the pool all summer with my little sister, Mollie. We had been swimming with our Mimi every summer since we could remember.

The sun was hitting our backs as Mimi applied sunscreen to our skin. The pool deck felt like hot coals against our feet. “Last one in is a rotten egg” is what I shouted to Mollie as I waited for Mimi to finish putting on my sunscreen. We were being competitive… what’s new? The moment I felt my Mimi’s hands leave my back, raced to the pool, determined to beat my sister and be the first one in the water. I hit the water and as soon as my head went under, water rushed up my nose and my mouth.

Panic filled my mind and water rushed over me. It ran through my nose and in my eyes. I looked up just enough to see the fear in my Mimi’s face. As I was still flailing like a fish in the water, I watched glimpses of my Mimi as she dove into the water, still fully clothed. I felt the embrace of her strong arms wrap around me and pull me above the water. A sense of relief washed over me as I looked into her eyes. Then, all of a sudden, I watched her eyes that were once filled with fear and panic fade into dismay and then laughter.

Through tears, I was able to mutter out, “Why are you laughing, Mimi?” Then, out of nowhere, she dropped me back into the water. That sense of fear rushed over me once again. I rolled out of her arms and plopped my feet to the bottom of the pool. I then knew why she and now my sister were laughing so hard at me. My feet could touch the bottom.

Now, out of embarrassment, I began to cry even more. They laughed even harder. Now my face was wet from tears and not just the pool water. My little sister jumped in and started mocking me. I splashed her and she splashed me back. We began a huge war shoving water in each others faces, and soon enough, our Mimi was part of the fight as well. She still had on all of her clothes, but she didn’t mind because she was with her grand daughters making memories.

I had been taught how to swim by my Mimi at three or four years old, so the craziest part it of it all is that I’m now a competitive swimmer. After every meet I’m mockingly asked by a family member “Could you touch the bottom?” or “Who had to jump in and save you this time?”