No Tears!

The little ducks made it through an entire half hour lesson without tears and deafening screams today! There were a few iffy moments, but generally progress. I dropped Mark today. No, don’t envision a baby slowly sinking to the bottom of the pool after a huge splash. It wasn’t close to that dramatic, and babies float surprisingly well.

Water Discovery

The longest term lesson I teach is also one of the youngest. The goal for the swimmers is dog paddle in 2012. Five of the kids are between 18 and 24 months; one is between 24 and 36 months. It will be a good lesson when no one cries. We stay sitting on the edge of the pool and one or two kids swim with me at a time.

Oops! Submersion

Regina was first a student about eight months ago, she has since gained ability to swim multiple lengths of the pool. She hadn’t really gone swimming previously. Her mother was definitely not comfortable in the water, even if she wasn’t quite a white knuckled watcher. Regina wasn’t fearful, but did have some sense. She never truly attempted a death defying leap. She’s fun to watch learn. I’ve learned a lot about how to teach while teaching her classes. She had one of the most memorable initial underwater experiences. It was the third class of an eight week session.

Goggles-Submersions

I had long forgotten the amazing vision goggles provide; it was a fact of life. I have to thank Julia for reminding me. Julia is a wild child, full of life and curiosity. She rarely sits still. She is best motivated by the reward of either jumping or flying into the water. She was in a class of less physically active children, much to her distress. I put goggles on everyone. The others, not memorable on this day, knew the uses of goggles. Everyone else knew they would be able to see. Everyone else knew we would be saying hi, counting, and waving underwater.

Ten Cents

I never thought saving a dime could possibly cause that much trouble.  It was a dime, ten cents, no big deal, but it turned into a nightmare.  It started months before, with me getting an internship, but it really started in a phone call.

“Melia, remember, Arvid and Linnaea will meet you at the train.”

“Yes, I have their number, and I’ll call you if anything is going wrong.”  I was nearly breathless with anticipation.  I was traveling, most of my stuff had already been shipped, and I would be with the strange and utterly exciting conglomeration of my mother’s family.

“I’m not worried.  One more thing, could you pick up two five hundred foot spools of fishing line?  I need kite string.  I’ll give you the money.”  Cacia was insistent.  She was the most known of my mother’s family, a favored cousin, the family I would stay with for the spring and summer.

“Of course.”  At the time, I’d not realized just how much string I was agreeing to ferry.