Swimming Lessons 101

This was Micah's first year of swimming lessons. He was super excited and having his BFF Chase join him made it even better! He took level 1 and for the most part he did really well. I have to admit, he did better than I expected he would. He hasn't had a lot of water exposure and we are to blame for that. It hasn't been something we have done a lot, but I am guessing that is going to change. He had lessons every day for 2 weeks and they were 1/2 hour long. He loved, loved, loved his teacher, Kyle which was great to curb some of his fears. He learned how to jump off the side, tolerate being splashed, putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles, floating (with assistance), going under the noodle (this was supposed to be underwater but he wasn't having any part of that business!) and he did go off the diving board with a life jacket on once. Going off the diving board was a huge accomplishment for him as he was scared to death! I had the opportunity to talk to him after he turned around and walked off the first time. I asked him if he trusted Kyle and he said yes. I asked him if he thought Kyle would let anything happen to him, he said no. The conversation worked because he walked up to the end of the board and jumped off! He did it so fast all I got on the video was him splashing in the water! :-) When he climbed out of the pool he screamed, "That was awesome!" I was a very proud mommy because I know how hard that was for my cautious little boy!

Micah and Chase 1st day of lessonsMicah gearing up for his 1st day of lessons

Waiting for the lesson to start!Playing Red Light, Green LightThis is what Craig pulled out of the washer. Thank you Micah!
After lesson celebration! Chase, Briana and Micah in the sprinklerPreview of what it will look like when they are 14! Yikes!The overall experience a positive one for him, for me on the other hand, that is a completely different story. This was my first experience with organized children's activities and some parents make it very tough to enjoy. It was eye opening to say the least. I will admit, we had a few bumps in the road through out the lessons, but in my opinion it was nothing worth getting worked up about. One day there was a child in the class that had a very bad day. They were not happy and did throw a fit causing a lot of disruption. As a parent, my eyes immediately went to Micah and let me tell you what I saw was inspiring. The two lifeguards were trying to manage the situation with the other child while the other children were left for a very short period of time to keep occupied. They were in shallow water and not in any danger (in my opinion) and those kids were having a ball despite the screaming and yelling of this one child. What I witnessed was a group of kids who were not effected by one child's bad day and that my adult friends is what is all about. I immediately thought, that could be my child and if it was, I would surely hope that other adults would know that God would not want them to judge me or my child. This video from YouTube actually popped into my head.

The other thing that happened was the last day, Kyle over slept and was really late for lessons. It was a mess but the other life guards did their best to cover for him. They didn't have any idea what the class was supposed to do so they were scrambling the best they could. The only bad thing was that he had promised the kids that they could go off the board to celebrate their last day. Needless to say the kids were pretty frazzled by the time he got there and the majority of them didn't do it. Again, I sat back and watched some parents freaking out and throwing a royal fit. I was so irritated at them because all I could think of was the kids. They were fine other than the routine being upset but they are kids, they don't get to shook. I was appalled at the lack of understanding and acceptance by the adults. After it was all over, all Micah said to me was, "Mom do you know why Kyle was late - he over slept." He never said anything about it being the end of the world or it being the worst day ever. I felt so bad for Kyle, yes he made a mistake, yes it stunk it was the last day, yes it was disappointing that the lack of nap for Micah (my bad) and the fact that his routine with his favorite lifeguard being thrown off led to a melt down and him freaking out on about going off the board the second time, but you know what, life will go on and he had a positive experience with swimming lessons. He is excited about what he learned and doing it again after a little break. That is what matters, my kid is happy and excited to learn more. I can only hope the parents don't ever have to face the reality that life is far to short and it can be over in the blink of an eye. I want to enjoy and soak up every experience Micah has and I hope that can be an example to others who lack in the importance of that.