We spent a few days in St. George this last week. Much of the time we were around the pool. The kids played in the water. The adults followed the shade created by the umbrellas and marveled at all the energy expended when kids and water meet. We were reminded of a few basic truths. Let me explain.

Truth #1: Growth is fun. There was a 12-foot-high platform at the deep end. It was a magnet for the kids, ages four to 17. In the beginning it was run, cannonball, splash, laugh and dart up the stairs again. The only variation was the straight-pencil entry with toes pointed which also brought cheers and 8–9-point ratings. These “simple” jumps were soon replaced with Russian splits, twirls, and even some flips. The jumps improved. The laughter increased.

Truth #2: There is always room for improvement. Elle knows cartwheels. Everywhere she goes, she does cartwheels. She has cartwheeled in airports, down the sidewalk, in the living room, on the playground. Her cartwheels are pretty perfect. She decided to try a cartwheel off the platform. New environment, new landing. The cartwheel was great, the landing was a little rough. If only she could have figured out how to do the pointed-toe entry, but she did a side entry instead, and it hurt. Got to work on the landing!

Truth #3: Even when you fall a little short of your goal, you learn and inspire others. All the kids wanted someone to dive. Hadley was the only one willing to give it a shot. She climbed those stairs, visualized the dive, and ended up jumping at the last moment…about 20 times. She practiced dives off the bank, and they improved dramatically. But then, she would climb the stairs, look down from the edge of the platform and…jump. Hoping to encourage her, the Aunties put up some money with the stipulation the dive needed to come in one of the next three attempts. She came close but all three ended in jumps. After the money was off the table, I figured she would call it a day, but no. She climbed those steps and kept trying. By the time we went inside she had jumped more than the rest of the kids combined. Her dives off the bank were beautiful. And no one showed more determination than Hadley. She reminded us of her mom.

Life is Good when kids and water meet…and the adults can find the shade. I might add none of the adults were diving off that platform. Welcome Summer.