Little Fish...

My kids all love the water, but none of them can swim. Last summer we frequented the 2 foot wading pool and if we were ever anywhere deeper they wore life jackets. As mentioned previously, this summer we went to the aquatic center. I wasn't aware life jackets were allowed so my kids swam without. Due to their new found freedom, they learned how to swim. Ethan and Kennedy were both jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side, and Jack jumping off the side and swimming to me. I was amazed at how fast they picked it up. Then came the summer Olympics. Ethan was enamored by Michael Phelps and all that gold that he racked up. I noticed that when we'd venture to the aquatic center Ethan would swim more in the indoor pool. He told me he was swimming "laps". I was pretty skeptical as to the fact that he was truly doing anything resembling a true stroke. One day I watched. He actually taught himself the backstroke, freestyle, and breaststroke. And he was swimming them the length of the pool. I was amazed. I gave him a few pointers and he picked up his pace. I discovered there was a local swim team called the Aquadogs, but one needs to pass level 5 swim lessons in order to join. So, we signed him up for lessons. The teacher was amazed at his ability and mentioned that he was far surpassing the others in his class. Would I mind if she gave him private lessons to speed up the whole process of him joining the swim team? Would I mind? Did she really have to ask? After 6 lessons he was deemed ready to join the swim team. He's gone from life jacket to swim team in a matter of months. His favorite stroke? The butterfly. I'm glad he found something he really enjoys doing. He practices 2 to 3 times a week and loves it. He comes home worn out but fulfilled. This kid sure does have some kind of determination. Watch out world----here comes Ethan!