That boy just amazes me.

Published on July 5, 2005 By dharmagrl In Misc

I taught my kids to swim last summer, and snice we've been going to the pool every day this summer I've been teaching them different strokes and breathing patterns for those strokes.

We started with a freestyle. The eldest two had a few issues with their faces being in the water and rotating their heads to breathe, but not our Jake. He got it right away. He had a little problem with not breathing as he was stroking, but we fixed that in about 2 widths. Once he felt what doing it 'right' was like he was good to go.

Then we tried the breast stroke. They all got that one pretty good.

I had saved the butterfly for last. It was the hardest stroke for me to get when I was a kid, and besides, it takes a lot of energy. I wanted to wait until they were all strong freestylers before I added a butterfly stroke in.

One day last week, I was watching Jake swim and noticed that he was dolphin kicking his legs and doing kind of a half butterfly with his arms. I called him over to the side of the pool and told him that if he just swing his arms up and out of the water he'd be butterflying.

Before I could even show him how with my arms, he was off across the pool, butterflying like a champion.

He did a width and turned, and when he got back to where I was sitting he popped his head out of the water and said "like that, mom?"

"Yeah, like that Jake". Man, that boy just amazes me sometimes.

I think that when D gets home in a couple of weeks he and I are going to have a talk with Jake about how much he likes swimming. If he's digging it, then we're going to look at getting him in a pool at least once a week, year round. He's showing such natural talent that it would be a shame to waste it...but if he's just not that in to swimming, I'm not going to force it. I'd rather have a happy kid than a kid who felt he was being pushed all the time.

I really, really hopes he likes swimming....this must be what dad's who are football nuts feel like when they find their son has a killer arm.....

Comments

Trudygolightly

on Jul 05, 2005

That is soooooo cool Dharma

that must have been a good feeling for you!
When and where did you learn to swim? was you about 6?

dharmagrl

on Jul 05, 2005

When and where did you learn to swim? was you about 6?

I learned how to swim in the English channel, and I was about 8, I think. The next year the class I was in at school started going to the pool every friday morning, and I learned how to freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke and butterfly there.

I didn't start swimming seriously again until I was recovering from injuries I sustained in a car accident. At one point last year I was doing a mile a day, and was in the water at least once a day, sometimes twice..once in the morning and once in the afternoons when the kids came home from school. I even had the lifeguard instructor there give me a 'mock' lifeguarding test to see if I could pass....and I did.

The only strokes I can't do are butterfly and certain backstrokes...and that's because I have a shoulder that likes to dislocate occasionally when I throw my arms around. Everything else I can do.

I'm so excited that Jake can swim like that! It's very, very cool!

Janders

on Jul 06, 2005

That is very cool, and no matter what swimming is a life long skill that he will be glad he knows. I am amazed at the amount of people who olny "kind of" know how to swim. They can be in a pool, but do not swim well enough to where if need be they could save themselves.

I guess growing up around the water is a big advantage, its great you have given your kids that oppurtunity.

dharmagrl

on Jul 06, 2005

I am amazed at the amount of people who olny "kind of" know how to swim. They can be in a pool, but do not swim well enough to where if need be they could save themselves.

That scares me too. I see folks every day at our pool who can only manage to dog-paddle across the width of the pool - one day last week the lifeguard had to go in after someone because they got halfway across and panicked. My original plan was just to have my kids be water competent, but they've all progressed past that now....especially Jake.

loved the water as a kid and still do!

I can't help but think that swimming or even just floating would do wonders for your joints and RA. The James river is nasty, I don't think I'd go swim in that....I'd be afraid of coming down with god-knows what afterwards.

Lifeguarding is an excellent summer job. I talked to the supervising lifeguard here last week - the class to certify will be held again next April/May so if I'm healed enough by then I think that I might give it a shot!

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