Article August 26, 1996 Issue

FOR CHILDREN

Fear can't limit your life

Cathryn Obey Anderson

When I was a little girl, my family and I would drive to a faraway state to visit our relatives. It was a long trip, and I always looked forward to reaching their house. My grandmother would take us to feed the ducks at a nearby park. It was so much fun! We would also visit my "aunt." She wasn't really my aunt, but my parents grew up with her, so she was like family. I loved seeing her and her children, but there was a part of that visit I did not look forward to; they lived right on a lake, and we would go swimming.

I remember one time so clearly, and my dad still kids me about it. We were all in the water, and I was moving very carefully, not knowing what or who might be under my feet. You see, I was used to swimming in a pool where you could see the bottom and knew that there wasn't anything in it except other people. But this was a lake with fish and who knows what other creatures, as well as unknown plant life. That's the whole point right there. I was downright scared of the unknown and unfamiliar. I didn't know what to expect.

The water was fairly clear, and all of a sudden I saw a giant fish below my feet, and it actually touched me as it swam by. My dad was close by me, standing in the water, too, so I ran to him and climbed straight up him as if he were a pole. You can imagine his surprise! It was pretty silly, but fear would sometimes make us do funny things that we wouldn't normally do.

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