Saturday, August 15, 2009

Marco doesn't know how to swim.

I thought I would have fun trying to teach him how to surf, but he doesn’t even know how to swim. Now I know why he didn’t want to go into the pool on Monday. Oh boy, one more thing for mum to criticize about him. He’s too old, he’s Italian, he hasn’t completed a four-year college. Give it a rest, mum. Now I know why Caitlin is alone.

Anyway, back to swimming and surfing. Cait is the best surfer – she is so graceful while I am a little bit clumsy. I am the better swimmer, though. There is just something about being in the water. In The Swan, Prince Albert says, “Think what it means to be a swan. To glide like a dream on the smooth surface of the lake, and never go to the shore. On dry land, where ordinary people walk, the swan is awkward, even ridiculous. When she waddles up the bank she painfully resembles a different kind of bird, n'est-ce-pas?” That’s how I feel sometimes.

I hope we will have family competitions again this year. Marco is a runner so he will have a chance to win the land contests. I would feel very bad if he couldn’t compete at all. Aidan is always my biggest competitor in the water, but I am bigger and that is an advantage. Aidan can’t surf. Every year, we try to teach him but he is too afraid to stand up on the board. He always wins the boogie board competition, though. I don’t know what Aidan’s new boyfriend is good at. I hope he can compete in something.

I will try to teach Marc to swim. He is eager to learn and there is finally something that I can do better than him. He is always teaching me something – either explaining how to make the best scrambled eggs or how to ride his racing bike. Or how to be exactly what I am.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does it make you uncomfortable to be better at something than he is, like you're stepping out of your role? It sounds like he's not that comfortable with it, if he wouldn't go in the pool.

Ciaran said...

I'm not uncomfortable teaching him. I think he was just nervous at my parents' house because he was meeting my family for the first time.

I will be blogging from the beach so I will let you know.

Anonymous said...

Caitlin sounds amazing. You are lucky to have her as a sister. Do you feel like you need to compete? You sound like you idolize Caitlin.