Swimming is our latest passion. Our meaning, my 7 year old partner, Aaryan and me! Every day, we pack our bags and get ready much before our scheduled time. While there are lots of things which keep me busy till it’s time to leave for the pool, the kid is one restless soul. Though Ben 10 shows him his various alien forms, his mind is on the watch. Every 2 minutes, he asks, “Ma, is it time to go now?” And me patiently answering, “No, there’s still some time”! If he would have been pestering me like this every 2 minutes for something else, he would have got a rebuke followed by a 2 minute lecture!!

At this time, I become an epitome of patience and love, coz I understand his state of mind perfectly! And it gives me immense pleasure and pride to note that the kid shares my passion for swimming too!

Every day, I find myself doing better than yesterday. More laps, less breaks, less panting after a lap, hence increased stamina and definitely more confidence. Earlier, only we were the sole swimmers in the pool but now as the temperature is soaring, there are many new entrants! So I restrict myself now to the deeper end.

Aaryan, swims for a while and then he moves on to his tricks and pranks, and fun n frolicking! He’ll throw his goggles and then dive in to get them, or plays around with the swimming tube or just jumps in with a big splash. Since in the shallow end, there are a lot of novices, so he has become their trainer. The other day I heard a big girl asking him, “Aaryan, mujhe bacha lega na?” and a confident reply from the young coach, “Haan, daro nahin, do bubbling, do leg movements” And he has become very popular too, with everyone waiving him Hi Aaryan, Bye Aaryan! Wow! Some networking!

The other day I told Kshitij about completing 40 laps thereby covering 760 meters! (The pool length is 19 meters). He just couldn’t believe it, made fun and kept telling me that I must have miscalculated the laps or it was just not possible! It was a big dampener. But I decided to become Jesus Christ at that moment and said a loud prayer (for him to listen): “Father, forgive Kshitij, for he does not know, what he is saying”!

Swimming is big fun and a great exercise too. Though, I am suffering from a mild throat infection and am running some temperature too, but nothing is gonna stop me from going for my daily dose of swimming!

Water…here I come!