swimming

I learned something about signing up for a gym.  If you want to sign up for a gym, talk to them a month before you really want to sign up.  After a month of weekly phone calls they'll throw in every offer they can just so you'll finally join.  Due to my lack of initial commitment we got 4 free months of swimming lessons. 

We're surrounded by pools here in Reston.  We go there multiple times a week during the summer.  Because of having two kidlets we spent most of the summer in the kid pools that are about a foot deep.  Connor has always loved those.  He's never loved going under water but by the end of the summer he was warming up to it a bit.

We were excited for his first swimming lesson at Lifetime.  We went the Saturday before just to warm him up to it a bit.  He talked about going to swimming lessons all weekend.  The day finally came.  I passed him off to his teacher and went to swim some laps.  After two laps I looked up and saw Connor running to the locker room with his teacher frantically running after him.  Apparently he was excited up until he had to get in the pool.  They were starting off in the deep end and wanted nothing to do with it.  Luckily the other kids didn't show up and it was a one on one lesson.  I joined in and we stayed in the shallow end the rest of the time.

We talked a lot about being brave that week.  We went to the pool a few times to work on conquering that fear.  He told me he was scared he would get stuck under water.  I can't say I blame him for being scared if you put it like that.  Grandma and Grandpa Wisan even told him he could go on their boat if he learned to be a good swimmer.  I'm not sure what clicked for him,(although he has mentioned several times we haven't been on Grandma and Grandpa's boat yet) but the next week he was great.  It's been amazing to see his progress in just four weeks.  Now he can stay afloat by him self for short periods of time, jump in a swim to the top, and he loves holding onto the wall and going under water.  It's been so fun and he's absolutely loving it.  See for yourself!