Swimming lessons, take 1.

The twins had their first swimming lesson last night.

The first in their almost four years of life.

Tragic, I know.

Looking back..... I wish we would have made this a priority much sooner.

We talked about it plenty, but when you have a mama who down right despises getting into a pool of cold water and a daddy with an extremely busy work schedule... we just never fit it in.

Basically the beginning AND the end of story.

I was never quite sure how I would man handle two, two year olds in a pool - by myself.

Most of the classes for kids under age 3 require a parent to be in the water with them.

Does this seem like a big list of excuses?

Well, it kind of is.

ANYWAY - a few weeks ago we were at a hotel and both girls refused to even get into the pool.

This was new... as a few months prior they were at the same pool, and although not diving in head first, they were at least willing to GET IN.

That was the last straw.

The following Monday I called to sign them up.

We decided to find a place with a heated pool and very small teacher to student ratio.

A bit more spendy, but heck..... this was the first money we'd spent on such a thing.

I was all for it and I knew the warm pool would be a big help in getting them in.

At least I hoped it would be.

Over the last few weeks we discussed the lessons would be starting soon.

We'd mostly get a thumbs down attitude from both of them.

Not a big surprise and therefor we knew these lessons were more important than ever.

The hubs LOVES to swim and so he hopes, one day, the girls will also enjoy it.  I - on the other hand - don't really love public pools.  Not exactly sure why.... I just recall when I had to partake in swimming lessons I was less than thrilled. I was never great at the sport and just had anxiety surrounding it.

For these reasons... combined with the idea we'd be spending plenty of time at the lake this summer we knew the girls needed more confidence around water.

All day yesterday .. Ms. K kept saying she was planning to "watch".  

Ms. R gingerly would announce she "might" put her toes in.

My very wise sister (formerly a WSI certified lifeguard and swim teacher) advised me not to push them on the first night. 

She said forcing them could cause a bad first experience and we may never get them into the pool.

Sound advice, I thought.

So - I went into the evening expecting them to be hesitant and perhaps even down right refusing to go near the pool.

When we first got there.... the atmosphere even scared me a bit.

Very busy pool.

Tons of people.

Loud.

The girls sat on the sidelines and just watched.

Ms. K with perhaps a slight smile, but Ms. R looking very unsure.

As you can see in the pictures that followed, my babies BIG GIRLS did awesome for their very first night!

They very reluctantly sat down on the edge, at first.

But their teacher - Ms. Tia - was amazing and you can tell she loves kids.

I explained their fears and she took that straight to heart.

By the time the 30 minute lesson was over she had them both in the water!

They practiced splashing and floating!

And, they even did a little "sitting jump" off the side of the pool into her arms.

I, of course, was beaming.

It's amazing ...... how proud you feel when you watch your children conquer fears.

Overcome obstacles they were afraid to face.

The absolute best part of the whole experience were the minutes that FOLLOWED the lesson.

Their pride, their excitement, their eagerness to call daddy and tell him they did "AMAZING" (Ms. K's words, verbatim).

The skill of learning to swim will hopefully come easier to them as we progress.....

But the sense of accomplishment and pride - this is a "feeling" they will hold onto and aim for in so many of life's circumstances I have no doubt.

Tomorrow will be Swimming lessons, take 2.

There will be new challenges. 

Goggles to be worn.

Bigger leaps to take.

I'm guessing not every obstacle will be easy.... but this was a solid starting point.

These little ladies..... always calling my bluff and literally blowing me out of the water with pride.

You'd think I'd start to learn a few things of my own...... such as letting go of the fear and anxiety of these new situations.

"Every thing's gonna be fine, mama..... WE DID AWESOME!"

A new mantra on "repeat" for me.

With love,

Cuz I'm the mama!