My Proudest Mommy Moment: A Swimming Update

 It has been a rough few weeks on the swimming front. We still have lessons every Thursday morning and hope to have a full fledged confident swimmer when the days get warm and the pools open up next summer. But, we hit a major roadblock about 6 weeks ago when Abby promoted to station 3. We have had tears, fought about going to swimming, and bravely discussed our fears over the last few weeks. As a parent you just don't know when to quit and when to make them push through.

This morning before swimming we had a major pep talk in the bleachers- I know you can do this Abby. You are brave and smart. Your teachers will not let you sink. You just have to remember to kick. Trust your coach, she is there to help you. I know you don't know how- just listen to your teachers. I said it all while hugging her sweet neck.

And then, they called for the 10 AM swimmers and Abby bravely walked to the pool. She ended up with a one-on-one lesson this week (thank you Lord!) and the best swim coach. They bring her in for kids struggling in one area. And, 10 minutes later, Abby did what she hasn't done in 6 weeks...

... she pushed off the edge, fell into the pool and started kicking! Her coach, the deck supervisor, and I all held our hands in the air with big smiles. After she swam across the pool, they lifted her in the air, twirled her around and gave lots of high fives. And then she proceeded to do it 10 more times like she knew exactly what she was doing!

She was scared to death to just let go and fall in. Aren't we all? She didn't know if anyone would catch her, if she would sink or she would swim. She wanted reassurance and had little faith in her abilities and the people around her. Isn't this so true of our relationship with God? I don't want to act unless I know what will happen. I need a safety net before I dive in to something new, like staying home with Abby. I know her fears, I face them, too. So, I have never been more proud than when she did it!

Once we had falling in behind us, we moved onto pushing off the wall on our back (think Olympic back strokers) and then floating. 

Let me tell you, she is a pro at this. She did it on the first try, no problem. Hooray for her accomplishing something she feared and then gaining confidence from being good at something in the span of 30 minutes!

They were amazed at how long she could float and I was amazed that she can be still :) 

 What an awesome morning at swim lessons we had! I'm so proud of myself for keeping her in swimming when she fought to go and so proud of Abby for being brave and accomplishing her next big swimming task! I don't know if swimming will be her thing, but being brave, learning new things, and overcoming fears will be important in whatever her "thing" is!