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With various social work trundled along its merry way, Astrid is formally adopted as Astrid Irene Adams, declared to be four years old with a birthday on March 30 for paperwork purposes, and successfully passed off as human to all prying eyes.
She grows and falls over a lot and maintains her orange coiffure and reads books and is generally precocious. The veganism and the aversion to salt and lipids persist.
Her fifth basketday approaches.
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bulrushes
asmyown
Lynn follows, making a face at the water's temperature but otherwise not reacting.
"Humans don't start out with the ability to swim automatically. So just because you can't immediately might not mean you will never be able to."
"Humans don't start out with the ability to swim automatically. So just because you can't immediately might not mean you will never be able to."
asmyown
"I'll show by example, then we'll work on you doing it," says Lynn. And then she demonstrates, using different methods with a few explanations of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Stroke, stroke, stroke. One lap around the little pond, then it's back to Astrid.
"What we're going to do first is see if you can float on your back. Sounds good?"
"What we're going to do first is see if you can float on your back. Sounds good?"
asmyown
"Then I will be right here, and I will make sure that you don't sink. I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to you."
bulrushes
Astrid takes a deep breath. She sits down on the bottom of the shallow pond end, and attempts to lean back onto the water.
asmyown
Lynn moves beside her, to help if there's any sign of panic or if there's something she can correct. Right now, though, she's rather proud of her daughter for being brave.
bulrushes
Astrid isn't panicking, but she's not mastering floating either. It doesn't seem to be a buoyancy problem, just a skill problem. She goes on holding her breath when her head dunks underwater and comes up with her hair plastered over her face.
asmyown
Aha, this is a problem Lynn can help with.
She carefully corrects some of the obvious skill mistakes, and says reassuringly, "You can float already, see?"
She carefully corrects some of the obvious skill mistakes, and says reassuringly, "You can float already, see?"
asmyown
"You are a floating thing!" agrees Lynn, grinning. "If you like swimming then we can try the public pool or the ocean, or we can stick to this pond. Essentially, if you enjoy it I will work to find ways you can do it."
asmyown
"It can be at a pool, or we can try to find a pool care store and see how you feel about it in raw chemical form."
She probably won't like chlorine, but Lynn is not going to stop her daughter from checking.
She probably won't like chlorine, but Lynn is not going to stop her daughter from checking.
asmyown
"Sort of," laughs Lynn. "If you don't put chemicals into pools they can get very icky. Especially a public pool."
asmyown
"Algae and bacteria mostly, I think. But there are other issues of hygiene involving a public pool that necessitates more of the chemicals. Some people think it's a good idea to pee in them."
asmyown
"This pond has a more balanced ecosystem. Things to eat the algae, and such, so it doesn't get icky. Or did you mean people peeing in the pond?"