Go For The Gold

I believe there’s a gene for competition and some people just don’t have it. It doesn’t mean they aren’t skilled, maybe more so considering their motivation is more intrinsically noble, simply that besting some arbitrary benchmark or talented rival doesn’t light their fire. Having been genetically pre-determined to overachieving, I get a strange sensation when I encounter folk who do stuff just because they enjoy it rather than to prove something. I think it’s called bewilderment and I’ve experienced it with my oldest daughter since she got here. Since Keilana’s paternal line is full of water-dominating merpeople, she was born a natural swimmer. She was good. I mean really good. My competitive instincts kicked in something fierce and I couldn’t wait to get her on the local swim team. I knew she would rock their world. Promptly after her fifth birthday, we showed up poolside to claim our victory, but only one of us was on board. After effusively praising Keilana’s swimming prowess, I stepped back to let them see for themselves. And we all watched Keilana pretend to drown for the next thirty minutes. Back in the car, I asked the child who could swim the length of an Olympic-sized pool at four what happened. Her answer was simple: she only wanted to swim for fun. Such an option never occurred to me. In Erica Silverman’s Don’t Fidget A Feather, Gander and Duck go mano y mano and friendship wins. I didn’t know there was a trophy for that…

P.S. Happy Birthday, Nana! We love you!

http://www.amazon.com/Fidget-Feather-Turtleback-Library-Binding/dp/0613076419

http://www.ericasilverman.com/