Well, it's still February. It's cold, snowing and miserable. What better way to get out of the blahs than to go SWIMMING! (Not me of course! Nothing would give me the blahs more!) The rec center here does swimming lessons that coordinate with the tracks so I signed up both Hallee and Hope to get them pool ready for the summer.
Hallee is doing SO great! On the first day she couldn't stop smiling. She loves being in the water and has made so much progress. Hope on the other hand...
Things went from bad to worse with Hopes swimming lessons. On the first day she ran to the pool, took one look at her teacher and froze. It was obvious that it was going to take some strategic planning to make this work. So the game plan went as follows:Day 1: Bribe. "If you do your lessons you can pick out a special prize after!" NO GO.
Threaten. "If you don't get in the pool you will go home and go to time-out." NOPE.
So, after numerous threats I had to follow through so we went home and Hope spent the next 35 minutes in time-out. It was rough.
Day 2: While out shopping Hope saw a swimsuit that she really wanted. Okay, I think. This might just work out for me. I buy the suit, get her all pumped up for her lessons and call for backup. This time I brought out the big guns and made Troy come with me. You can see how well that worked...
Day 3: Hope woke up early and declared "I AM NOT GOING TO SWIMMING!" She put on her regular clothes and it was all over. She spent that day fully dressed sitting on the side line. Okay Hope - You win!
Day 4: My last ditch effort. I had to suck it up and put on a swimsuit myself. With me in the pool Hope swam like a fish. However, if the teacher came within two feet of her the tears would make their reappearance.
Day 5: Once again, Mom in the pool. This time I finally said to the teacher "Just take her and go." Hope screamed and cried the first go around but by the end she was tear free. Whew!
Next time just remind me to take $40, shred it into pieces and throw it into the pool . It would have saved us all a lot of grief!
6 comments:
I love it! Hope is hilarious. I need to get my kids in the pool, I don't know if your story has inspired me or talked me out of it! Maybe in a few more months.
Kennedy did the same thing. LOVED sitting on the steps of the pool but when it actually came down to leaving the step and learning anything... NO WAY!!! I am hoping this years lessons will be more beneficial! Glad to see Im not the only one wasting money on lessons!
No, no, no. Don't throw the money away! Last summer that is exactly what happened with my #1. She cried and cried the first day. But I didn't even come near the pool. The next day there were lots less tears and by the third day she was proud of herself. At the end of the session, we went swimming at a big public pool and she jumped off the diving board and swam to the side all by herself.... 8 times. She is not a brave, uninhibited, coordinated girl, so this was a huge deal. Before the lesson began her teacher told me that she would cry and that she didn't want me to respond to her crying or come to the pool. Of course I gave her lots of hugs and love afterwards.
I don't mean to be preachy here. Maybe my experience will encourage you not to give up on her.
Jam I love how you tell it,it makes you feel like you experienced each day with her.
Oh that is priceless. Sometimes it is good to get a late start on childbearing, I get to learn lessons from all my wise friends who suffer before me.
Hoper's daddy wasn't all that keen on swimming lessons when he was a lad either. :)
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