Swim Lessons

Allie missed out on being able to take swim lessons this summer because she was otherwise engaged at BYU (she was doing BYU's preschool). Damon took lessons and really seemed to improve a lot, but I felt bad that Allie didn't have the opportunity (and had never had the opportunity). So, when it came time to sign the kids up for a "fall sport," I had very little hesitation in choosing indoor swim lessons for both of them. I knew Allie was going to love it, because she can basically swim already, she just lacks the confidence to go all the way across the pool. I was very pleased with my decision when I learned that Allie was in a class with just one other girl and Damon had just three others in his class. One of the definite perks to taking swim lessons in the fall. I knew Allie would love the individual attention and the opportunity to shine in the pool.

And she did love it. For the first three lessons. By the end of the third lesson, she was shivering from the cold and instantly decided that she was not going to love it anymore. This was also the day she started running a fever, which we later realized was H1N1 flu, so she had good reason to be cold that day. We let her sit out of the next lesson (3 days later), but by Wednesday, she was fever free and I thought she would be able to get back into it. But I was wrong.

For any of you who know Allie (or have read even one post about her on my blog), you know that if she sets her mind against something, she will not be convinced otherwise. This was one of those experiences that I dread. She cried the entire time she was in the pool, claiming she was freezing. She refused to participate at all, but instead insisted on staying by the light to keep herself warm. I tried not to get frustrated, telling myself that she was still recovering from the flu and would be better the next time. I even took her to buy a swim cap so she wouldn't have to get her hair wet. But it didn't help. The next lesson was even worse. She cried so loudly that I could hear her through the glass of the viewing room where we watched the kids. And, again, she refused to even put her face in the water to blow bubbles.

This time, I was not so patient. I knew that by now it had become a mental game with her, and that she really had no excuse for acting the way she was acting. I walked down to the edge of the pool and gently told her that I was not going to save her, and that she was going to have to finish swim lessons. Her choices were to enjoy it or make it miserable, but she wasn't getting out of the pool. She finished, but she cried the whole time. I left feeling so discouraged. Mostly for her, because she was missing out on the opportunity to learn to swim because of something that was completely in her head.

We spent the whole weekend talking about it, and trying to convince her that the only way to warm up in the water was to actually move her body, and that I hoped she would change her attitude big time before swim lessons were over. Monday came and I held my breath. Which Allie would emerge from the locker room?

Luckily for all of us, it was pleasant Allie again, the one who loved her first three classes. She participated and really enjoyed herself. And I heaved a sigh of relief. I wish I knew the secret to helping her change her attitude. It would make both of our lives so much easier.

Here is proof that she particpated. She is the one floating in a ball underwater. The other little girl in her class, who is 6, must really have a fear of water, because she was nowhere near actually learning to swim. But her attitude was great.

And Allie posing when she saw me taking pictures. By this time, she didn't even need her swim cap anymore. I wish I had pictures from the day she wore it.


Damon, on the other hand, did fantastic at his lessons and is getting so much better at all the different strokes. I want him to do swim team this summer so he can really improve. Swimming is a skill I wish I possessed, as it is something you can enjoy for the rest of your life. I think someone needs to tell Damon that if he wants lats like Michael Phelps, he's going to have to work really hard.

And here's the other observer. She desperately wanted to get into the pool every time. I thought about trying to substitute her for Allie when things looked sketchy, because I know she would have loved it. I'm not sure why she had her shirt off, but it's probably safe to say she thought she had a better shot of getting in the pool if she undressed.