Wally's school has one-on-one swim lessons beginning at age 3. We thought this might be good for Luke since he is still a little hesitant in the water. So today was his first lesson!
Luke wanted to so badly get in the water before his lesson started. I kept telling him we had to wait for his teacher. He was put with a male student, Sal.
He was a little hesitant to go with Sal even though he knew ahead of time I wouldn't be going in the water with him. I was right there in the front row of the bleachers though so he could see me.
Sal put some goggles on Luke and he thought that was pretty cool. Luke sat down and put his feet in the water. And then he went in very slowly with Sal's help. And that is when things went downhill!
The water was cold and Luke was freaking out. He kept looking at me. Almost willing me to come over there and 'save' him. And I soooo badly wanted to. I am pretty sure I got tears in my eyes for a second. He was upset. I knew I needed to tread carefully here though. Sure, I could go over there, take his hand, and tell him it was ok and that we could leave. But, I knew that wasn't the right thing to do.
I walked over and told Luke that it was ok and he would warm up if he stayed in the water. I told him Sal was right there to help him. I asked him to try to get in the water and that I would be right on the bleachers watching him. And then I walked away. He was so sad, but trying to be so strong. I was the same. I knew that I couldn't linger over him or make a huge deal out of him being upset and the water being cold.
Luke and Sal sat on the edge for quite awhile. I don't know what Sal was saying, but he would get a nod out of Luke every once in awhile. Sal brought over some water toys and that made Luke a little excited. So for the remaining 20 minutes of class, Sal held Luke and walked around the pool. Luke held a toy turtle and pretended it was under the sea. I think Luke may have blown bubbles once in the water. And then the class ended. Luke couldn't stop talking about the turtle under the sea and the seahorse that was trying to get him. :)
I thanked Sal. Sal said at least we got him in the water. I guess that was the first step! Unfortunately, there is no class next Saturday, which means in 2 weeks we will probably have to start all over again.
As someone who isn't really very fond of water myself and a Mom, I really wanted to pick up my little boy, hug him, and tell him he didn't need to go in the water ever again. But as someone who isn't really very fond of water myself and a Mom, I knew that it was important for Luke to get in the water, trust someone else, but know that I was right there cheering him on and waiting to wrap him up in a towel and squeeze him tight!
Who would have thought that swimming lessons would make me so emotional. I can't stop thinking about the class this morning and his sad eyes as he is just looking at me. Is he ready for swimming lessons? Is this torture to him? So in 2 weeks, I am sure both Luke and I will pretend that we are excited for the lesson. We will both put on our brave faces and 'jump' right in again!
No comments:
Post a Comment