Seaside Memories

At Today's Little Ditty, Michelle Heidenrich Barnes is sharing "ME poems" inspired by a master poet, Lee Bennett Hopkins. As a child, I did not grow up near a pool or lake. I had mixed feelings about the sea mostly stemming from the fact that I did not start swimming lessons until I was well past the age most children did. When at the local Y, I felt awkward in the water and was fearful of losing my breath during lessons. I think having allergies prompted me to have an aversion to placing my head under water. For the few times that my family took a trip to the water, I was mesmerized. I enjoyed the waves and the splashing water but was not a risk-taker like others. A safe option for the most part was splashing in my bathtub. The memory of my mother's or grandmother's soft hands holding a towel when I came out bring back happy moments as a little girl. 

From toddler days on my children were in love with the water and as babies quickly learned to dunk their head and doggie paddle. They moved on to learning to swim all four strokes. As members of the local country club, both children took swimming lessons and joined the swim team. One of the highlights of my daughter's childhood was winning her first silver medal as one of the youngest members to not only swim a fast race but win a meet when she was a little beyond five. My son became an excellent disabled swimmer in the Games for the Physically Challenged and to this date swims three to five miles at least two times per week. 

Now when I go to the shore I watch children gleefully splash each other or be hit by a wave. These sights brings back fond memories of my children growing up near the shore and my reticent ones of swimming in ocean waters. The sea did not call to me when I was a child but now it surely does.  

My "Me" poem gives a brief insight into my childhood experience around water while the image above shows a contrast. The children I photographed at the beach clearly are enjoying their frolicking moments at the ocean as the tide came in and the waves crashed.

Now please visit Today's Little Ditty for the Poetry Friday Round-up. Michelle Heindenrich Barnes, host of Poetry Friday, posted her "Me" poem with an invitation to her little ditty. My offering is included in this blog post. 

If you have not perused the Summer Splashings Gallery please visit it here. You will find a digital explosion of poetry and photography mixed allowing voice to rise across the globe.