Day 919 -- The High Dive

One of my favorite and earliest memory as a kid was swimming at the Y with my family.  I loved being in the water.  I especially loved the springy diving board.  I remember my dad teaching me how to curl my toes over the edge in reparation for my first jump.  I remember him coaching me through the steps to take for a perfect dive.

One night, after ushering out the other families (I always wanted to stay in until the last possible moment), the lifeguards allowed me up on the high dive platform that was always roped off.  I don't know as a kid if I can ever remember being as happy as I was at that moment -- climbing up the seemingly endless ladder to the top and viewing my family and the people below as tiny spectators.

Well, my girls (and Bres) have been a fan of the diving boards at the Albion College pool for quite some time. Every time we go, they ask if they can go off of the high dive board, but I've never really taken them seriously.   Within 1 minute of entering the pool area, the girls again urgently asked to go.  I decided to call them on it.  I fully expected them to climb up to the top and then chicken out.

Instead, this is what happened close to 25 times in the 60 minutes we were at the pool today:


It brought me such joy to see my girls having so much fun and being so brave.  I love watching their free spirits, hearing their contagious giggles, and experiencing their energy and they crazily splash and kick around the pool.

Thank God for the high dive!

Lord, thank you for a fantastic time at the pool today.  Thank you for the courage and freedom you've instilled in my little girls.  In your name I pray, Amen.

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