SPORTY SPICE

For a while, I wondered which activity interested my middle child. Her older sister showed a penchant for fashion design at the age of four whilst her younger brother exceled at building puzzles and Lego structures prior to attending preschool. It wasn't until this summer I realised Cinnamon's beloved activity - swimming.

Cinnamon has taken quite well to swimming. This past summer I observed and photographed her and her siblings during swimming lessons in Berlin. Every morning we made our way through the maze of U-Bahns, stairs, and surface streets to get to their outdoor pool location. On the second day of my four-day trip, we ended up taking the U2 in the opposite direction instead of the U7 as I relied on Saffron's instructions. This ended up in Sage tripping and bumping his head, whilst holding my hand, as we ran to minimize our lateness.

This week I observed Cinnamon learning the various strokes in the 30-minute lessons she's been getting from a private trainer. I smiled when I heard the instructor tell my daughter she was very disciplined when it came to her carrying out his instructions. The most used phrase was "bubble arm, breathe arm" as she made her way numerous time across the lap pool and back.

Earlier in the week, as Sage and I were relaxing by the pool during Cinnamon's lesson, I showed him ballet performances by men on my iPhone and pointed out how they could fly through the air. I have been trying to convince my son to take up a sport - any sport - though quite unsuccessfully. Flying seemed to intrigue him to the point where he was asking when he will be attending ballet so he could fly through the air. He also wanted to know if he would be wearing costumes.

After the lesson that day, the discussion ensued between brother and sister about boys wearing dresses. Cinnamon insisted boys did not get to wear dresses during ballet class. As their discussion continued and we made our way home, I was amazed to see the contrast of their talents and glad my sporty spice girl is now doing what she loves.