I no longer have to keep us both afloat

This summer, C (Wes' para-pro) has invited us over to swim on many occasions. Wes was still pretty new with the whole pool/water thing. We had our downfall with a local pool, but he enjoyed visiting C and dipping his toes into her pool. Occasionally, she'd get him into the pool and make him realize that he can touch and everything is alright. He loved sitting on a lounger and floating around while everyone else swam.

After one failed attempt at a floatation device , I tried another . With a little adjustment, Casey was swimming on his own in no time. Of course, I'm always right behind him in case something happens, but before I knew it, he was turning on a dime and enjoying every minute. Wes on the other hand, was still a land lover. I figured that if I didn't just help him jump in with both feet (pun intended) that he'd never learn to swim and never enjoy the water like his brother. Being the mean Mommy that I am, I grabbed him, carried him a bit to the deep end and told him to kick his feet and swim to me. He caught on real quick but wasn't happy with me. As a matter of fact, he had this death grip like a boa constrictor. I gave him breaks in between the impromptu lesson and before long, he was asking for C and I to let go so he could swim. At one point, both C and I were in the deep end with both boys just swimming away. We kept some noodles handing in case we needed to carry them back to the shallow end, but they weren't needed. When it was time to go, both boys were not happy. Wes cried and nearly had a tantrum when he was told pool time was over.

I couldn't be more proud of my boys. I should know by now that with just a little push out of his comfort zone, that he'd succeed at this. Sometimes you just have to force the kid into taking on a task head on, even with the kicking and screaming. If you could have seen his face beaming with pride and the excitement on his face with every jump into the water, you would have made the same choice as I did. My one regret is that I didn't teach him sooner and now summer is nearly over. All the public pools have been closed for the season so he won't have as many opportunities before it gets too cold.

If you have a swimmer who's intimidated with the water, invest in one of those swim suits. They are great! And to think I debated on not buying them because it was the end of the season. Thanks Honey!