Swim lesson admirers

Nathan and Luke had swimming lessons at our house this summer.  We had Mrs. Patty Kay and Mrs. Bekah come over for a week to get our boys closer to a safer level of swimming.  And it worked.

Nathan needed that little push to get him swimming on his own and putting his face underwater.  And because of them spending that week with him, I feel much more comfortable with Nathan in the water now.

Since it was just the 2 boys swimming, they happened to have some admirers patiently watching them often.

Waterbaby

Katherine enjoyed being on the Y swim team this summer.  She excelled and truly showed us how good of a swimmer she is.

She didn't always like the water.  Her careful nature and disdain of the water in her face made her a pill to deal with in the bathtub when rinsing off her hair.  I remember well, because her little brother is showing the same attributes.

She participated in 3 swim meets and did rather well in all of them.

Her first swim meet:

Warming up

Prepping for the 25m freestyle race

Off she goes

Now for the 25m breast stroke race

MOM!

K and sweet Melina, her dancing and swimming gal pal.

Getting ready for the 25m back stroke

Her second swim meet:

Our little Wahoo

Her freestyle race yielded a 2nd place

Her back stroke race yielded a 2nd place also.

And she got a 3rd place in the breast stroke.

Her 3rd swim meet:

Warm-up time.

Freestyle, she competed against all boys and got a 1st place!

 

 

Backstroke she got a 3rd place.

 

Breast stroke she got a 4th place.

 

 

She did so good this year.  It warms my heart to think of how far she's come from our little toddler afraid of water in her eyes.  Something tells me I'm experiencing just a taste of the heart-swelling I'll be feeling in the future with other events she participates in.

Swim lessons galore

So now that we have this beautiful new addition to our home, within a week it became painfully clear that it very well could be a death trap also.

Nathan REFUSED and still REFUSES to listen to anything I tell him to do in the water. Arm floaties - yeah right! Sit on the step and wait your turn - come get me mom, better hurry I'm goin' under. Cool life jacket with an alligator on it - he acts like I'm strapping a cactus plant to his back.

Back to swim lessons we go. For one week, we had Nathan finishing up the "easy" swim lessons in one location and also starting the "life or death" swim lessons in another location clear across town. Katherine was in the "easy" lessons for 3 years and it was just her pace. Basically, it is getting the child familiar with the water and making sure they love it. That wasn't the issue in our household, it was making sure this child was on his way to becoming drown-resistant because there was no fear or respect for the water.

He enjoyed the "easy" lessons and didn't care for the "life or death" ones, but at 21 months he can jump in the water and swim to the side.
Because brother was going into swim lessons at Katherine's alma mater, I decided to have her go for another two weeks with him. She successfully completed her Pre-school certificate and by the end was working on swimming Freestyle and breathing to the side. I declare that girl.

All in all each kid got 16 1/2-hr classes of swim lessons over a 6-week spread with the mileage to show it. It was all very worth it and the peace of mind is priceless.

Sayonara swim lessons

Today was the last day of 8 for Katherine's swim lessons. She requested we arrive early so she could watch the other kids swimming. He was the one I was worried about. What am I going to do with him for 30 minutes each day to keep him happy and still watch her progression? Food, of course. As long as I had that in my hands so it wouldn't spill, and an ice-cold sippy cup of water, he was happy. Thank you Jesus for your divine-inspired insight.
The other hook for keeping his attention was the major construction site right next to the swimming pool. We'd get there early enough for her to watch the other kids swimming and him to watch the construction equipment. And today was the best day/best view/most-movement-by-a-piece-of-machinery day so far.
I must admit though, I'm struggling. Struggling with being proud of our daughter but not being prideful. She's good. She's got skills. Yes, I am saying that because I'm her mother but she really is a good swimmer. She's not so sure of herself though, so I'm constantly trying to build her up, praise her, prepare her and encourage her to accept challenges. All the cheering on my part is difficult to temper when she does walk through that door and I get to watch her talents from the sidelines. I swell with pride and here's where the vast desert of "grey" comes in: where does my God-given pride of and towards my child end and my ego-driven prideful-self begin? I don't brag (other than to the grandparents) because frankly she's good, but no Olympic-swimmer. But it certainly is something I wax and wane over. I want her to know that she's been blessed with certain gifts and talents. God has an awesome plan for her life and those talents are part of it. They are all used to his glory and that seems to be the fine black line that separates the grey. Period. What she has, what talents any of us have, are all to glorify God.
So swim your cute little blonde-haired self on across that pool, sweetie, cause God is waiting and has an ocean for you to cross. Good news is, he'll be there the whole way.