8.26.2010

All Things Swimmingly.


At the start of summer, Alex struggled with his swimming skills. The truth was that Ken and I enrolled him in all these sports but we never had time to pick up swimming again and it had been a few years. Last year at Boy Scout camp, Alex didn't pass the Water Safety Test and he was devastated. I mean truly shattered and scared.

This year, we enrolled him in a summer-long swimming curriculum. And Alex had to face his personal demons in the water. At first, he was very scared. I mean this was the kid who hated to be placed in a tub as a baby. He was the toddler too scared to jump in the pool even when the coach was standing there to catch him.

Well, 12 weeks of swimming lessons later, he was a confident swimmer and one who easily passed his Boy Scout Swim Test. It was worth all the tears and frustration to get him there. Do you remember a moment of childhood frustration? How did your parents help you overcome it?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I had a fear of dogs. My parents never pushed me, but they didn't shield me either. Anytime someone would walk their dong in the neighborhood my parents would pet the dog and encourage me to pet it too. Then one day I came home with a stray and well...that was that.

I'm so proud of you for being a good momma and of him for overcoming his fears. He'll never forget how much you helped him!

Sophie said...

Marye - Such an inspirational story. Yes, overcoming fears is a lesson that I'm still learning myself. So teaching it to my kids is twice as hard!!