48.1

"Come on, are you going to wait until you are 90?", asked Sophia disappointed of my indecisiveness to jump from the diving board after two unsuccessful attempts. Picturing myself at the age of 90 diving in the pool made me laugh, but didn't motivate me to try again. The unstable surface under my feet had made me nervous and insecure, and even the smile of the lifeguard, who was observing with obvious interest my hesitant steps to the end of the board and back, didn't make me more determined... Sophia took a position on the board and, with grace and elegance, made a front flip in the air before diving into the blue waters warmed by the setting sun. After watching her and the other kids for a while, I pulled together all my braveness and strength and went on the diving board. I started, then stopped at the end of that swinging board, closed my eyes and jumped. Not elegantly and graciously like Sophia, but more like a suicidal jumper. The arrival in the water was fast and refreshing and I truly enjoyed the underwater experience. I did it one more time - exactly the same way.

The next day when we went to the pool, Sophia took me to the diving board, but the thought of that swinging, shaky and "suicidal" surface terrified me, and I shook my head: "No, you jump, I'll just take pictures." "Oh, come on, are you going to wait until you are 90 again?", replied Sophia, "Just do it!". I will - before I'm 90 years old. Maybe when I wear Nike.