Anyone I have spoken with this summer, knows my extreme frustration at how my son would not try to swim on his own. Well, right before Shelley, our wonderful swim teacher emailed us, he decided to try it. And now, for three weeks, we have been making a 40 minute drive EVERYDAY with gas costing $4 a gallon, and I can honestly say it is worth it! He swims the length of the pool, using his arms, and breathing to the side. He is no longer afraid to go deep...and in the pics below you see him going through a hoop, which Shelley no longer has to help him do...he does it all by himself. I have found that him being able to swim doesn't just make me proud, but it makes me feel "safe"...or "safer" anyways. Every time I go in the pool with him and Abby, I had two kids holding on to me for dear life...now he can actually swim, so I can breath a sigh of relief...not that I would ever let him swim alone though!
Abigail on the other hand, had a much more difficult time with swimming lessons! She screamed, and cried, the entire first week. Then, suddenly she decided this jumping in stuff is fun. Now, she runs and jumps in whether you are there or not! SCARY! She can keep herself afloat for a couple of seconds and when she puts her face in the water, she can actually swim!! When we are swimming at my mom's house, she loves to swim from mommy to daddy and back again, over and over again. This is the girl that wouldn't put her face in the water at all 3 weeks ago...much less "swim".
Now, though, I have to watch her even more to make sure she doesn't leap without someone looking! But, this is the stage we must go through in order for her to learn to swim on her own. These three weeks have been priceless...living in Arizona, where our kids are constantly around pools, means that they have to know pool safety, it just isn't an option.
