an aussie in austria

I love swimming. So naturally I want my kid to love swimming. However, due to the time of year he was born and Covid, he didn’t get his first official swim until recently. I dutifully made a plan – I bought swim diapers and a UV swimsuit – I packed towels and snacks – and I prepared for it to be a disaster. Because I went along knowing full well that my romantic notion of taking him swimming would not come to fruition.

Look, it didn’t go badly. For extra help I took the grandparents, so with a ratio of 3:1 we were bound to win. But after getting him up from his nap, feeding him, changing his nappy and getting him ready… well, there wasn’t really a whole lot of time left to hang at the pool. He hates lying on his back at the moment but he’s too little to change standing up so there was a bit of wrangling to get him into his swimsuit while he tried to crocodile roll away from us. But finally… in the pool he was. And I’m pleased to say he loved it! Or at least he loved being surrounded by all of us cooing over him. There were no disastrous faceplants or waterboarding events, and before he had a chance to get cold or grumpy it was time to head home.

Was it fun? Yes! Was it difficult? Absolutely. Was it worth it? Sure… it was necessary to try. But later that week we went out and bought one of those plastic shells you can fill up with water. Because… that’s really all he needs right now. And because being naked in your own pool in the backyard is the best thing ever!