getting her feet wet.

Last night, Ethnie had her first official swimming lesson. You are probably thinking, why wait so long? Ethnie has had a hard time with water since she was born. She has always been pretty scared of the water. As an infant, baths were torture for her (and for me). Up until this past summer, she wouldn't let the pool or lake water go past her knees. She didn't try putting her face in the water until she was five. Now, at six, she has started swimming lessons. Wheew....

As soon as she saw the pool she was terrified. Clinging to me, shaking, and on the verge of tears. I assured her that I would be watching the entire time and that the instructors would not make her go in the deep water or go under the water. I signed her up for Level 1 swimming: introduction to the water. Sounds pretty basic, right? The first thing they wanted these kids to do was get into the deep end of the pool and go under the water! I was shocked that they literally wanted these kids to "dive right in" to swimming.

For the first half hour of the lesson, Ethnie would only sit on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. She was so scared and I felt bad for her. She kept trying to get up and sit by me, but I made her stay by the water and told her she at least had to try it. A few minutes later, she let one of the instructors hold her in the water so she could hang onto the wall like the other kids. She hung out there for awhile and watched the other kids dunk their heads and practice kicking. She started smiling and having a good time. By the end of the lesson, she was out with the instructor floating on her back! Clinging, but floating on her back. I was so proud of her for doing her best and getting into the water. She told me she wants to keep coming. I'm planning on keeping her in lessons through the summer so she'll be brave enough to go tubing!