Swimming, Part 2

Swimming.  We purchased a cheap pair of inflatable water wings and put them on our son.  The package was for older children ages 3 and up, but we decided to try them anyway.  I was surprised that the water wings did not actually keep my son's head from going under.  However, they did offer him enough buoyancy to allow him to successfully float on his back without me holding him.  Not only was my son completely thrilled, but something clicked.  He discovered that his face went under water when he kicked his legs but remained above water when he relaxed and lay still.  So he relaxed, and floated around the pool, kicking and going under only when he could no longer contain his explosive joy.

He brought his excitement to the pool the next day, and shed no tears when the instructor pulled him gently into the water.  In fact, he laughed!  I watched my son put his face in the water, flip himself onto his back and float on the water all by himself!  The instructor needed to rescue him when he laughed so hard he nearly drank the pool.  My son wanted to practice over and over again, and I sat on the side of the pool with my daughter, cheering and clapping.

My daughter watched her brother carefully while I narrated what he was doing so well in the water.  "Look, he is putting his face in the water, he is turning around, he is taking a breath of air, and he is floating!  He is not kicking!  Yay!!"  She clapped for him with me, relaxed and smiling.  Usually she clings to me, all nerves.  But she settled into me and focused on her brother's successes.

Then it was her turn.  My daughter cried when brought into the pool, but without the usual intensity.  She cried louder when she was about to go under.  Then she suddenly stopped crying, stuck her face in the water, flipped onto her back, and came up for air, smiling.  She could not float on her back because she was exuberantly clapping for herself!
 
The instructor had promised me that my children would reach this point, but I had been so caught up in their endless tears that this moment caught me by surprise.  This is my rainbow after the storm.  My children no longer scream during lessons.  Swimming by themselves will be my pot of gold, and I now see it on the horizon.