May 2026

Hi all, I want to thank you for the hard work you put into teaching your classes. Yesterday, my daughter swam her first independent strokes with Becky. As I was watching the tape at home afterwards I was beaming with pride.

Watching her struggle with eyes under for months, and then jump to eyes under to independent strokes within 3 weeks, is for me proof of paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould's theory of punctuated equilibria. As the figure suggests, most people think evolution comes in a perfect linear pattern, but rather Gould's theory suggests there are long periods of slowwwww evolution, and then giant bursts. When it comes to growth in our lives, the lesson is one just needs to be patient during those slow periods. I struggled with that patience, but I now feel rewarded. 

I'm in awe of how you all maintain your enthusiasm and patience. 

Many thanks again