Life aquatic
Skipper, Dutch, and I stood in line for half an hour yesterday morning to sign up Dutch for free swim lessons for the week. She's super-excited for swimming; our local pool is outdoors, open only in the summer, and it opens today. Today! Dutch has tried on all her swimsuits, and is champing at the bit to get started. She's signed up for seven weeks of swim lessons this summer. The first five weeks are all at the Penguin level, which is sort of the getting-ready-to-swim level, where she's supposed to learn kicking and floating and get very comfortable putting her head in the water. The last two-week session, though, in far-off September, is at the Otter level, which is the crucial actually-learning-to-swim level. Dutch is dubious that she'll be ready for this, and I promised that she could drop the class if she wanted (or if she doesn't get promoted from Penguin).
I'd really like for Dutch to learn to swim this summer. I secretly want Dutch to be a serious swimmer, because I've loved swimming so much as an adult, and wish I had learned earlier. In my family, as long as you could get around without drowning, you were all set, so while I got to be very comfortable in the water, I never learned how to crawl, let alone spiffy things like flip turns (I still haven't learned that). I'd like Dutch to have more skills than I did, so she can both feel more comfortable in an ocean/lake/whatever and can swim in a pool for exercise.
So I'm a little too invested in Dutch's swim lessons. I'm happy she's enthusiastic, and it's going to be hard for me to let it go if she decides she doesn't want to Otter. I know that no amount of enthusiasm on my part is going to persuade her to do something she really doesn't want to do (like jumping into the pool unassisted) until she's ready. Parenting involves an awful lot of letting things go.
Anyway, tomorrow! Swim Lesson #1!
I'd really like for Dutch to learn to swim this summer. I secretly want Dutch to be a serious swimmer, because I've loved swimming so much as an adult, and wish I had learned earlier. In my family, as long as you could get around without drowning, you were all set, so while I got to be very comfortable in the water, I never learned how to crawl, let alone spiffy things like flip turns (I still haven't learned that). I'd like Dutch to have more skills than I did, so she can both feel more comfortable in an ocean/lake/whatever and can swim in a pool for exercise.
So I'm a little too invested in Dutch's swim lessons. I'm happy she's enthusiastic, and it's going to be hard for me to let it go if she decides she doesn't want to Otter. I know that no amount of enthusiasm on my part is going to persuade her to do something she really doesn't want to do (like jumping into the pool unassisted) until she's ready. Parenting involves an awful lot of letting things go.
Anyway, tomorrow! Swim Lesson #1!
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