Oh today will go down as one of the most unique experiences of my life. Have you ever taken a TEN year old swimming for the first time in their life? How about TWO at the same time??? I'm in Haiti visiting my twin daughters and they were allowed to leave the orphanage with me today and to go to a nearby luxury hotel to swim for the day.
These girls had clearly never seen anything like this place. I watched them look out the windows of our van, at a country they live in but rarely see. The walls inside their wonderful orphanage are pretty much their primary scenery. Then as we pulled up to the hotel lobby, I could see their eyes grow wide and they started smiling and whispering to one another.
I brought them each a swimming suit and when I asked them to put it on, they hesitated for a moment. I made the gestures of putting it on over your head and they got it right away. Neither girl would come out of the bathroom without their cover up fully zipped :) I'd like to remind them of this is about 5 years :)
As we approached the water and they realized that I was going to get IN the pool, they hurriedly dropped their cover ups to the ground and followed. Katia stayed back of course, as she does nothing without letting Katie test the waters first. Literally in this case! Katie is more adventurous and walked straight into the water. ..with her mouth WIDE open....ooops. Mom fail. She sputtered and failed for a minute and when I scooped her up her heart was racing insanely fast. Worst. Mother. Ever. Luckily she didn't let my one mishap deter her...I think she may have to carry that patience with her to America. And as for Katia, after she saw that, she turned right back around, like "forget you, lady! No way in hell."
Eventually we were all three in the water learning how to hold our breath and tread water. I'm a TERRIBLE swim instructor in case your were wondering....especially in creole. I never realized there were so many steps to teaching that! I mean, I wanted to say, just do "this". :) Doesn't quite work that way. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I didn't even know I WAS teaching initially. I was just doing what people do in water. When I got too low, I blew the water from my mouth, etc. Then I noticed Katie doing it too. As I began to watch her, I realized that she was mimicking every single thing I was doing! Right down to wiping water out of my eyes. I actually remember thinking, "oh shit! She's learning by watching you!! That could get dangerous at some point..." I loved the way they eventually just followed me wherever I went. They'd grab onto my shoulders or take my hand when the water got too deep. And they both snuggled pretty close as the day turned to evening. They were FREEZING, which I found hilarious because I was still getting sunburned at that point. They kept saying the word for red and pointing to my face at the end of the day. Apparently my face was burnt and theirs wasn't. Hmmm, odd. Perhaps our exteriors are slightly different shades ;) Another learning moment for me today....when choosing a filter for a pic, what works for mom may not work for them :)
I wrote this down today because I want to remember forever the feeling of our first outing away from the orphanage. I'm not sure who was more scared when the day started, me or the girls. But in the end, it was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced!!!
