It started off with some shorty short bum hugger swim trunks that Kael picked out at Shop*Co this afternoon. I figured I'd bring my camera and snap some shots of him in the ridiculous things during his swimming lessons. Turns out, bum huggers on my son are cute.
He was ALSO the only kid to show up for his level two swim class today.
He'd passed on to level three last session, but he still had a bit of a fear from his (seemingly) near drowning, so I kept him in level two until his confidence perked up. Well today, he did some perking. His instructor is a new girl and this *is * the first week of class, so she doesn't really know the kids well nor what they are capable of.. so she pushed him. Encouraged him, rather. Kael is the kind of kid that has fun by accomplishing goals and pleasing/entertaining the adults around him, and here was his own private audience, talking just to him and asking him to listen, which he did.
And then a magic light bulb turned on and his learning sponge started soaking up, as fast as it could, all that she was saying. She'd sit him on the edge, tell him what she wanted him to do, show him herself, and he'd climb back in the water. And do it. It was the coolest, proudest, most fantastic thing I've ever sat on the edge to witness. To get to see that kind of magic in your kid, when they all of a sudden just *get* something... I mean, I was a blubbering mess. With a camera.
The only time she needed to put her hands on him was when he got to the end of his swim... all of the back floating, back stroke, front float, side stroke, "big arms", "rocket" moments are all him. Swimming. All by himself. He was jumping in and swimming a good ten feet to where she was waiting. All by himself.
It was one of the coolest parenting moments I've ever experienced.
No comments:
Post a Comment