It's a Beautiful Day for a Swim - How things sometimes work out better than planned

As the sun made its appearance last week, so did Sage's expectation of swimming. Sunday was the day we agreed to go swimming at the indoor pool in our gym. 

We arrived, checked in and got changed before I realized that the kiddie area of the pool hadn't opened yet for the day and all that was available was lap swimming. As one would expect, Sage was upset - but she has been talking a lot lately about learning to swim (like, for real swim, without floaties). Once I was able to get her to calm down enough to listen to me, I explained that we could use the time to practice learning how to float, hold her breath to go under water, etc.

Even though I am not a real swimmer and even though I am not a swim instructor...I am her MOM and I know her best - so we got to work. We practiced her holding onto the wall and putting herself underwater. Then we practiced pushing off from the bottom (still holding the wall). She really got creative and decided to yell "Surprise!" at the top of her lungs as she came popping out of the water. Then she began trying to move along the wall putting hand over hand. She let me help her float, something that really scares her, and she worked on treading water. We also discussed the role of the lifeguard and the importance of water safety. In the 45 minutes we were there, I saw her confidence build as well as her respect for the water.  This was an intense learning time with just the two of us working for a shared goal - which made it really special.

The ultimate highlight of the experience for me, though, was something she said while she was hand-walking along the wall. "This is fun mommy - I really like swimming. I like spending time with you!"

My heart jumped for joy. "I like spending time with you too sweetie," I responded as I choked back tears. There is nothing better than having your child put something like that into words. This moment would not have happened if the kiddie area was open and she had been playing boisterously on the slide and in the water sprayers with other kids. So today I am thankful for changes of plans and my ability to be flexible with those changes.

Emily A. Filmore
blog.withmychildseries.com
http://www.withmychildseries.com/