« Slow feet, » I reminded him.
« Slow feet, » my son repeated, and walked, not ran, to the shallow end.
He slipped in as if the water had been waiting for him, with the biggest smile on his face.
His whole face lit up!
Then he floated onto his back, arms out, humming that soft tune exactly the way his therapist had taught him to regulate when he felt anxious. I watched months of tension leave his little body all at once.
Noah is kind, funny, and sees the world a little differently than most people. Crowded places can overwhelm him, but water has always been the one place where he feels completely calm.
I watched months of tension leave his little body.
For months, he’d been counting down the days until our vacation.
All Noah talked about was the swimming pool.
My husband sat beside me on the lounger and rested a hand on my knee. « Look at him. »
