Swimming Sasha

Sasha with a swim instructor

Two weeks ago, Sasha started swim lessons at the local pool. Unfortunately, her first swim lesson was her first swimming pool experience (not counting bathtubs or kiddie pools), so she was terrified. Her fear and apprehensiveness got worse each day. My husband and I experienced quite a mix of emotions as she refused her lessons and stood crying poolside. I was very frustrated that she wouldn't try. I was sort of ashamed that my child was the only child crying, screaming, and refusing to go in the pool or do lessons, while the other kids were running amok and fearlessly having fun. Sometimes I wished that she was a bit more dare-devil and adventurous.
But Sasha is just Sasha, and that's just who she is. She is a cautious child. She rarely gets in trouble because she thinks deeply before acting. And she is just like I was at that age. It hurt to see it sometimes, but her swim lesson experiences were identical to my own. May we each be blessed and cursed to have a child exactly like ourselves. Our children are unforgiving mirrors, forcing us to see our own faults and blessings with brutal honesty.

I did eventually sort things out in my own head. There are blessings to having a cautious child. Jon and I took the opportunity daily to take her to the pool during free swim, and swam with her to build up her water confidence. (My mother-in-law purchased a maternity swimsuit for me so that I could swim with Sasha, and I am grateful for that). And as I swam, it became apparent I am not exactly a good swimmer either. But we swam together and had some fun quality time. It was excellent exercise for me for pregnancy too, so there's that bonus!

Today Sasha had her final lesson and test. She failed her test and will have to repeat level one swimming lessons next year, but she gave it a very good try today. When I think about it, she had no swim pool experience at all, so why should I be surprised she would balk at it. If I had never been to a pool before, would I start diving, floating, jumping, and holding my breath immediately? Yeah I didn't think so. She's come a long way these past two weeks, and overcoming fear of the unknown is hard work.

Good job, Sasha!