All of the kids are doing great with swimming.  I think that by the end of the summer I will – maybe- be able to actually “sit” by the pool…instead of standing at the ready constantly waiting for someone to drown. 

Friday night there was a pool party at the daycare.  All of the kids lined up at the pool at 6:00 pm waiting for the lifeguard to be ready.  The last few years, despite continued improvement and comfort in the pool, Matthew continued to be afraid of the deep end (constantly asking “Can I touch the bottom?”  So, on Friday night, all of the big kids lined up along the deep end.  Matthew was hesitant and came and asked me the question.  I told him he couldn’t but he could swim and it was okay.  He thought about it for a while and then…he went to the deep end and waited for the whistle and…JUMPED IN!!!  He played in the deep end the entire time and had a blast. 

Tonight I took the kids to the neighborhood pool after I worked all day.  After about an hour, Matthew followed Riley over to the diving boards.  He has never been brave enough to jump off of it before and I thought he would not tonight but I turned around and he was jumping in!  More importantly, he was practicing perfect etiquette on the diving boards – waiting for the person ahead of him to get out of the pool and not climbing onto the board until it was his turn.  After about 10 times on the low board, he actually got in line for the high board.  This is not really high (about 5 feet) but, I couldn’t believe when he climbed up and jumped in! 

A few minutes later, Logan asked if she could try the diving boards and then proceeded to go from low board to high board without skipping a beat. 

Meanwhile, Addison can swim but she is still afraid.  I dragged her (crying crocodile tears) out about 15 feet from the stairs and she swam back to the stairs.  She made a few more runs back and forth to me but then got “tired” and sat out of the pool. 

So, all in all, leaning towards a more relaxing summer.

Categories: Uncategorized