Watching the kids swim

The point of self sufficiency in the water for each of the kids was a big step.

For various reasons, teaching the kids to swim was largely my job. Our main goal was to get the kids to a point where they were strong enough swimmers that we didn't have to constantly worry about them drowning if they fell in the pool.

It's a life skill.

Towards the end of the summer of 2015, Isaac reached that threshold. He could jump off the diving board and paddle over to the ladder at the side of the pool. From any one point in the pool, he could swim to the side. At the annual Ahokas' pool party, we were able to all sit on the side and chat while Isaac swam with the boys.

Paige reached that point in August of 2018. She was several months younger and not as strong as Isaac was when he hit that same level of competency, so we were more vigilant with her.

In the weeks after the 2018 Ontario trip before the pool closed, we were in White Rock a couple of times. We could sit on the side and chat while the kids splashed, paddled, and played in the pool.

I bring this up as one of the things I asked Hillary a couple of days before she died was, roughly, what were some of her best memories of the kids. She was quiet for quite a while.

"It's too hard to think about. I can't come up with anything," another pause, "Watching the kids swim."

Hillary will miss most of the kid's lives. She did get to see both of them swim on their own. It's not the biggest or most important thing, but it was a thing.