The way I've been going on about Timmy, you'd think I had only one child.



As the middle child, he doesn't normally receive much press.


Took them to their first swim lesson of the new eight-week session at the YMCA. We missed the final class of the previous session, Easter Monday, because I thought it was a holiday.

Can never figure the holidays in NJ, observances are occasionally traditional and other times contemporary, and there's no telling in advance. The public school kids were in class all last week while my kids were home.

We left abruptly the Monday before because Tim was not feeling well. It was the beginning of his week-long decline that landed him in the hospital for a day by week's end. Come to think of it, Tim wasn't up for a swim lesson last Monday, either.

So, today, back in the groove, Tim's swim teacher tells me that she moved Tim up to the next swim level. She said, "He passed the test last time." But I already registered him for the same level.

I can't guess how his older brother would feel about Tim being at the same level as him. He does all he can to keep his younger brother in his place. And we do all we can not to rile him. Always have.

So many new swimmers today. Not just new faces, but new swimmers. One kid pushed off the side and I thought he was going to drown. Went straight down. The teacher expected more and almost didn't bail him out in time.

Guess many parents see summer approaching and want their kids to be seaworthy. But mine have been swimming at the YMCA for years and they don't know how to swim yet. What makes a parent think that eight sessions is adequate? It probably should be but, in my experience, it isn't.