Swimming and Overcoming Fears
Today Kai had his last swim lesson, at least for the next several months. He dove (more like a graceful bellyflop), swam with fins, and descended to the bottom to retrieve rings. I felt so proud watching him. Just a few months ago his piercing screams rang for what felt like miles at the mere suggestion of floating on his own. Week after week we continued to drag him to the hated pool as he made almost imperceptible improvements. After about two months the screaming had stopped. Another month later he started to look forward to lessons. Yesterday, he didn't even want me to hold him in the lazy river so that he could "touch the bottom". I had to literally drag him out of the pool before hypothermia set in. That seems to be how it is with life and kids. We move along, each and every day making the hard choices. We get out of bed and face the fears of that day then go to bed feeling like nothing has changed. Until we have the chance to look at our life and realize we have ...
