You can swim like a friendly little fish. And it’s a good thing because the weather has been bouncing between the 80s and 90s this week. This is the beginning of a lot of pool time. Welcome to summer.
We put you in swim lessons a couple months ago and you’ve really taken to it. Goggles encourage you to hold your breath so you could enjoy the underwater views. Now you can dive down to pick up training sticks on the shallow pool floor and aren’t phased by water in your nose and eyes.
You’ve also made some friends at swim lessons and like to introduce yourself and kids that you don’t think know each other. You are quite the socialite. When you saw your friend Mae at pre-school the other day, you introduced her to all of your school friends and she finally told you to stop so she could just start playing.
We went to Cannon Beach for a getaway long weekend and you met some kids at the Tillamook Creamery. The creamery is about 3.5 hours from our house, so it won’t be a place we frequent. Although the ice cream selection is tempting. Anyway, you had fun playing chase in the lawn of the facility with some random kids whose parents also had a passion for dairy. Your Mom and I were pleased with ourselves because we connected Matteo and Greta on the leash and they pulled each other trying to keep up with you. What a proud parenting moment. We ate a box of salted caramel ice cream bars so fast they didn’t have a chance to melt. When it was time to go, we asked you to say goodbye to the kids, your new friends.
You said out of ritual, “Bye guys, see you again soon!”
But of course you won’t, or perhaps ever. The sentiment was innocent and it caught an emotion with your Mom.
You were excited to make new friends and should always try to. Not because you necessarily need more friends but because being friendly and connecting with people, even when fleeting, makes life richer. Sometimes the fast friendships can be the sweetest, just like ice cream.
Love, Dad