Like Fishes in Water

Yesterday marked the end of this session's swimming lessons. We opted for twice a week which seemed a little hectic but the girls improved so much faster. They all did wonderful. It's kind of neat seeing where Amelia is at now (being able to swim the length of the big pool) versus Audree's level (which is where Amelia started).

Amelia loves doing things she's good at (don't we all) and swimming is one of those things. She loves going, she puts her heart into it, and can see how much she's improving. I wish she would put that same heart into other areas that don't come as easily but that I know she could excel at (guitar comes to mind...I feel like that's a common thread in these blogs). If there is water around, Amelia is in it. If we're at someone's house with a pool she is in it the whole time. Even other parents have called her a fish. Chalk up another way she's like her Aunt Erica.

Audree started lessons not being able to put her head under and wanting to cling to her instructor the whole lesson. We told her if she put her face in the water we'd buy her goggles like her sisters. She did it, we bought them then forgot to bring them for the next lesson...which made that lesson pointless. She sulked the whole time and refused to do anything. That week, Paris chewed them and that was the end of the goggles. But, with the little pool in the backyard she gained confidence and little by little she was putting more of her head/face into the water. By the end of the lessons she was swimming forward with her whole head under. I think she's just as excited about this feat as we all are...so cute!

This set of lessons was Evelyn's first time in the big pool. Since she's 6 we took her out of the "animal" named lessons and put her into the "numbers". She was the most nervous of them all at the start. The water is way deeper (I wasn't even sure she'd be able to touch in the shallow end but it goes up to her chin...as long as there are no splashes or waves she's okay!) and much colder. Her endurance and stroke greatly improved but most of all her confidence sky-rocketed. She's able to jump into water now without being able to touch the bottom and swim back to the edge.

I love watching the girls learn and seeing the pride in their faces as they accomplish new things. Up to this point they've been doing swimming lessons once a year but I want to keep the momentum so I've signed them up again in the fall. We might take a break through the winter because the thought of being wet in the cold is not very motivating (plus the rec centre's parking lot is super windy and poorly designed so the walk to and from the car is torture in the winter).