Tracey

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Tracey and Q, June 2009

3 months ago Q had great trouble even putting his face in water. He did not like to have his head beneath the surface of the water. Summer time pool parties and a week at a cabin on a lake got me to enroll him in some group swimming lessons. When the group Swimming lessons were more bobbing up and down than lesson I splurged for private lessons. Private lessons are way outside of my character, Q has still not been in any organized sports program. But swimming is about safety and he had a hurdle to get over and so…

The wonderful woman you see in these photos is Tracey. She’s the reason that even though three months ago he couldn’t bob under water while holding the side of a pool, this past Sunday he swam half a lap on his own, jumped into the deep end, went to the bottom and swam around and learned the butterfly stroke and the dolphin kick! All this because of Q’s hard work, determination and courage and because of Tracey.

Life is so lovely. It has been a wonder to sit by the side of a pool and watch this relationship develop between the two of them. The teacher, the coach, who has the skills to bring out a talent in your child. Confidence is a swirling thing. Gain confidence in an area that was once a challenge and it travels out to touch so many parts of your life.

Babies and toddlers have their many, many charms, but oh the richness of watching this sweet soul reach out beyond my arms and soar into his own. The nest is lovely but so small.

There is a blessedness to being around people like Tracey who spend their lives working with children.

Thank you Tracey.

BTW: During the time Tracey was nursing her 4th child she donated 17 gallons of her milk to a program that took it and gave half to infants who were in need here in the U.S. and half to infants in Africa. Thank you Tracey. Thank you.

Loveliness.