Living in Phoenix, we go swimming a lot. My kids were taking swimming lessons practically as soon as they could walk!

When I took them to their lessons, I could always spot the young mom who was taking her child to swim lessons for the first time. She wants her child to learn to swim, but she is clearly nervous as she hands her child to a college-age instructor, intently watches from the pool deck, and silently screams to herself, Be careful! You have no idea how valuable that person in your hands is to me.

In Phoenix I quickly learned that "going swimming" means different things to different people. After mowing the lawn in 105 degrees, I go swimming, which means diving in and floating motionless. To my mom, "going swimming" means sitting on the steps and cooling off. For my wife, "going swimming" means floating on a raft or tanning next to the pool. To my kids, "going swimming" means contests for the biggest cannonball splash, seeing who can jump through the biggest stack of inner tubes, ...