Swimming lessons. I have spent more hours at a pool than I can count. I took swimming lessons nearly every week from age 6 months to 16 years, when I received my National Lifeguard Service Certificate. So don't be fooled by my not-so-lithe physique, I am a cracker-jack swimmer (and apparently given to using phrases from 1955). And now, I am at the pool again. My girls have been in lessons since they were babes and while they absolutely LOVE to swim, I can understand that the routine is a little grating on the nerves at times. Each week, we schlep to the pool, bathing suits itching under clothes, then jam towels, shoes and coats into tiny lockers in the steamy change room and elbow our way through the bottle-neck at the deck entrance for them to jump, backstroke, and bob. And after I try to avoid dozing in the warm, white-noise filled viewing area, we race to the showers to claim a spot, towel dry, wrestle dry jammies over wet feet and arms (which is always tricky) and try to dry hair without getting blown away by the hurricane-force dryers.
But sometimes, if we get there a bit early, there are a few minutes to enjoy the relative quiet of the change room, in the space between one session ending and the next one beginning. It was in such a moment that I captured this image. To me, it speaks volumes, the silent story of our many hours spent at the pool, and countless more to come.
On a side note, I realize that most of my recent posts have featured personal photos. This year, I am making a huge effort to capture more images of my family at rest, play, work and love. I was inspired by fellow photographer, Dana Pugh of Short and Sweet Photography, whose blog post featuring her favourite photos of her family from last year moved me to tears. Her work is so beautiful and it truly celebrates the joy in the little moments. That is what I want my work to accomplish, for your family as well as my own. Thank you all for looking, I promise some new (not of my kids) work will be coming soon! :)
{M) xo