“I don’t need you, Mammy, I can do it on my own!” Ouch!! …and just like that, I knew my precious, first born baby duck was no longer a baby, or toddler for that matter, she was a fully-fledged, kid!

We were at our local swimming pool, waiting for her lesson to start, and she confidently pushed away from me, kicking her little legs and her slapping the water with her hands.  I’d love to tell you that she swam off gracefully, over the hill and far away, like the little ducky in the nursery rhyme but she didn’t. After a few moments, she went straight under like a sack of spuds.

Shutting down the panic coursing through me and with one of those big smiley ‘It’ll be OK!’ faces reserved for when you’re hoping something doesn’t emotionally scar your child, I scooped her up. While she coughed and spluttered and I reassured and praised her for trying, she snuggled into me and I to her.

One day very soon she’ll move on up to the big kid class and I’ll watch from the side with a mix of fresh caffeine, panic and pride coursing through me, and a big ‘It’ll be OK!’ plastered on my face. I hope my little duck knows that no matter how far away she goes,  I’ll always be there to scoop her up and snuggle her under my wing.

Quack quack,

Yembers x