Just Keep Swimming

As a parent, you want your child to be good at something. Smart, gifted, talented, what have you. I'm a big believer in trying something out to see what fits, what Violet can be good at naturally.

She did ballet through her daycare, with what I thought were less than stellar results. You know the kid who stands in the middle of the stage, looking around and picking their nose while everyone else is making coordinated motions with something resembling gracefulness. Yep, my kid. So ballet was out.

She's done about a year of gymnastics, during which I've definitely seen progress. And anything that gets her muscles coordinated and keeps her active is a win in my books. But there's no real innate talent there that I could see. (Her little friend got asked to try out for the team - we did not. Her little friend flips over the bar - we do not. Not that it's a competition, but still.)

This is our second year of swim lessons. She did the entry level class last year, and I opted to have her repeat PS1 again this year before she moved on to PS2. Violet isn't over confident in the water, she hates to get her face wet. Plus, she's quite shy when it comes to starting new things, especially when there won't be anyone there she knows. the fact that she remembered swim lessons from last year was a huge plus for us.

I wasn't wild about the instructor at the beginning. At the first lesson, the poor woman had laryngitis and it was almost impossible to hear what she was saying. She didn't seem overly warm and fuzzy, with hugs and high fives and good jobs. But hey, we're all different, everyone has their own teaching style, and at least Violet wasn't crying (like another little guy in her class). I didn't get to stick around and watch - Miss Fuss had to be walked around in her stroller non-stop (that's what I get for scheduling lessons during nap time). But by the end, I'd warmed up to the teacher. Her voice came back, the high fives and positive praise were there. But best of all - Violet is swimming! She made it halfway across the little pool by herself, head in the water, everything! The instructor told us not to bother with PS2, she was promoting her straight to PS3! I'm so proud! Not that we're about to join the swim team or anything, but it was awesome to see how much progress my girl made in only four days. We talked a lot of confidence and being brave, and she showed a lot of both. Maybe too much, based on her "I'm a really awesome swimmer!" comment. Although I'm not too worried that she's going to attempt jumping in the pool without someone waiting in the water for her. Now we just have to convince her she can swim without her floaties "for real," not just as a part of swim lessons.

And we're totally signing up for soccer in the fall. If we try enough different things, Violet is bound to find something that she loves. It's a two day a week commitment, which I'm not excited about, but two of her school friends are doing it with us, and I'm really hoping soccer is a good fit for her. But until then, we'll just keep swimming!