all these things are easier (and less scary) if you are naturally bouyant.

I know I've been able to swim since shortly after I was able to walk, so I have little perspective. But I can't imagine how ducking your face into the water is affected by your buoyancy. It seems weird.

Before I'm ready to do handsprings, I've got to relearn arches.

Last night during class we did handstands. It was fun!

OK, my dad's flight did not need to take off early. Poor man will have an even longer wait at the airport.

This one time? In voice class at drama school?

I was such a little nebbishy no-talent acting student, my full-octave opening two notes for "I Wish You Love" blew everybody's hair back. I couldn't reach past mid-house with my speaking voice, but I blew the roof off in lower register with my singing voice. I shoulda done something with it.

But I did something else instead.

Arts and craftsy, huh? Most of that would have been learned from my grandparents or girl scouts. Girl scouts would have been lanyards, godseyes, dreamcatchers, and friendship trinkets (beads, bracelets, whathaveyou) Grandparents ceramics, crochet, knit, sew, cross stitch, that thing with the plastic grid you sew yarn into, and while it may not be crafty, it's not as sporty- build anything from a tree house to a racoon trap.

Oooh fishing! I learned to fish really young, even the baiting and casting. A little later on I learned the cleaning, to my mother's complete horror.

Little DJ: I gutted and cleaned a fish!
Mother: (horrified) OH MY GOD!
Little DJ: @@ It's ok mom. They don't hurt you. They just go like this...(makes fish cheeks and bulgy eyes while gasping for air)

My reenactment did not soothe her.

ball skills - I fake it . no depth perception, so I do not get invovled in any of the local ball games no roller skateing. I did play the flute. can't now.

never could sign , but I do it all the time

cooking - I started learing at age 11 or 12.

driving - learned at 16, but didn't do it til I was 21.

My high school had a few year span lasting through my freshman year of having a full-fledged musical for the spring play, and a review for the fall play. With my untrained singing voice, I was really happy that they went back to doing dramatic plays in the fall starting my sophomore year (got the semi-lead of the evil stepmother/murder victim in Appointment with Death and played the Apothecary in Romeo and Juliet). Played in the orchestra for On the Town freshman year, did lights for Brigadoon sophomore year, and got in that Pajama Game chorus junior year.

My dad had a piano at his house, and he would have been so pleased if I'd actually learned much piano-playing, but since I grew up to have hands too small to stretch an octave, I don't feel that bad about not actually giving a shit about formal music instruction. I pick out tunes by ear, with whatever fingering I like, and that's enough.

I can hear music a lot better than I can reproduce it, but I can carry a tune. Actually, I was vaguely unaware that tone-deafness existed, till I went to college and really really tried to teach friends to sing. There were two of them who were like the ita krav lesson: I sang a middling note, and they were supposed to sing exactly what they heard, and they thought they were doing that, but sounded completely wrong.

I don't remember not knowing how to swim or feeling totally comfortable in the water. I think my mom had me in lessons before I was a year old, really, and I swam competitively all through middle- and high-school. It's so weird to me to even think about that not being a comfortable environment. I mean, I know it's hard for some people, but for me, it was like, I don't know, walking.

OTOH, I've never come close to doing a cartwheel, and wasn't great at most ball-related (shut up) activities when I was young. I think I'm actually better now because I'm more comfortable in my body than I was then. Huh. Now I'm thinking about it, I think that had a lot to do with my ease in the water, too - a different kind of coordination being used.

I can glue macaroni on a picture frame like a motherfucker.

Har!!

But I can't imagine how ducking your face into the water is affected by your buoyancy. It seems weird.

It makes sense to me: Being more buoyant means you feel less like you could drown. Face in water = feeling like drowning, if you don't know what you're doing.