There are very few thrills to beat watching your kids learn to swim. I watched our three year old girl dive without fear into four feet of water, resurface, cough, splutter, swim to the side of the pool, climb out and try again. It's probably the bravest, stupidest thing she could have done and I could not have been more scared and more proud.

I watched my six year old girl - scared of water to the point of hating washing her hair - go from dabbling her feet in the jacuzzi to paddling around happily out of her depth, enjoying playing splashing games with her family. She's come so amazingly far. She cried when we let for the last time. Now she wants to go every day after school.

It's so lucky we have a swimming pool - well, three swimming pools - within a couple of miles.

Wonderful, wonderful girls. Events like that make up for all the times they drive me crazy.