Determination and Dreams

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about fun kid photos and the stories behind them. Enter Plum’s “Babies for Yum Caption Contest” on Facebook and you could win a $100 gift card or Plum goodies.

My youngest child is what you call a water baby.  All my children are, to be completely honest, but this child would live under the sea if she had the choice.  Eager to keep up with her older siblings, she wants to be the fastest to the other side, to hold her breath the longest under water, to make the biggest splash.

Each summer, she masters another skill in the pool.  This year, she surpassed her goal of being able to swim an entire lap and take part in swim team.  She also wanted to be able to retrieve things from the bottom.  It may sound simple enough…you just hold your breath and dive down.  But when you’re a little air bubble, as she is, it takes a lot of effort to kick all the way to the bottom, fighting your buoyancy all the way down. 

At first, I’d have to actually throw her to the bottom, almost like a swift gymnastics move.  She just needed that extra push.  But within weeks she had the skill mastered.  Now, she can’t stop.  Change that.  She won’t stop.  She’ll dive down for anything, any time.

I adore her determination.  She sets a goal and doesn’t quit until she meets it.  I love that trait and hope she gets it from me.  There’s something to be said to pouring your heart and will into an accomplishment.  It leaves me to wonder what she’ll set her mind to in the future.

Will she want to be President?  Will she pursue a career in medicine?  Right now, her heart is set on being a dolphin trainer.  She saw dolphins at the GA Aquarium and even got to touch and feed them at the Clearwater Aquarium in Florida.  She has her heart set on working with the beautiful creatures as an adult.  But we all know how that goes. Her dreams could change at any moment.

So, what will she dream of? And will her determination be enough to get her there?  I have so many fears and anxieties about what all could go wrong along the way.  But, I feel I should follow her lead, watching her as she continues to move toward her goals, to the treasure on the bottom of the pool and anywhere else she finds it.

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.