Swim Lessons

Oh swim lessons. Mr. T does not like swim lessons. At the pace we are going, we're going to spend a few thousand bucks before the kid gets his face in the water. He tries though, he gets to the point where he is scared and then he pushes a little further. And that is really all I ever ask of my kiddos. I'm proud of him for that - very proud. It's just that the point where he is scared is about in water up to his waist or when his face is about 6 inches from the water or when he's wearing a life jacket. We are a long way off from swimming or really enjoyment of the water. The hard part is that he has to learn to swim. Neither Peter nor I feel like this is an optional life skill. On top of that, I actually want him to enjoy the water. I don't care if he's on the swim team or some kind of great swimmer but when we go to Black Butte with our whole family and spend the day playing in and around the pool, I want that to be kind of fun for him.

Fortunately, we have a FANTASTIC teacher this term. She pushes him, but never too hard and is very kind and loving to him. I think this summer we are going to have as many Daddy/Mr. T pool dates as we can and then also try and get him some private lessons from this same teacher. The great thing about Mr. T (one of them) is that even though he doesn't love swim lessons, he willingly goes every week and tries. There are no tears, fussing or tantrums and truthfully, as important as it is that he learn this I don't think I would drag a crying kid there every week. He puts on his swim suit, takes his shower, greets his teacher and participates in class. Twice a week he does this. And that makes me pretty proud.