Swimming

On Friday Morgan and I took Delphine swimming at the local community centre where they have a baby pool, a shallow pool with warm water and wide graduated steps.

Delphine did not take to the water like a fish. She wasn't scared, but she wasn't willing to give it her whole-hearted commendation without further study. So we sat in the shallows, and she considered.

If you haven't met Delphine, I should explain now that she is a very serious little person. She approaches new situations with gravity and deliberation, studying her surroundings with big, blue, unblinking eyes before deciding if she approves.

It took her a good ten or fifteen minutes of thought before she concluded that sitting in a large puddle of warm water doesn't suck. She learned how to splash herself by pounding on the surface of the water, never failing to be surprised by the result. *splash!* *blink* *blink* "What happened? My face is wet." Then she got her hands on a toy orca and chewed contentedly on its tail and watched the other children until it was time to get out of the pool.

Altogether I think we sat for at least forty minutes. While Delphine studied and considered and decided, Morgan and I watched the other people. There was a little boy with red goggles who talked to everyone, there was a girl in a red flowery suit who was fascinated with Delphine, there was a mom who constructed an elaborate Rube Goldbergian fountain out of flutter boards and watering cans. It was a hoot. We'll go again.