My "Pescaditos"

While we are here we are enjoying swimming lessons twice a week! The children are learning so quickly and working on their strokes. The girls have all moved up one level from where they began 7 weeks ago!

Our little man has a story all his own... the first day of class he timidly got into the water and I dutifully sat on the bleachers with all the other parents cautiously watching their children attempt to keep their heads above water. Within a few moments it was very clear that our little guy was not comfortable - the thrashing body in the water with the guttural howl coming from his general vicinity only served to rivet the attention of all students and parents within earshot. I jumped up and rushed over to the side of the pool to find out what was wrong - oh, wait - he is in water, in a swimming class for the first time and with someone he can't communicate with at all! Hmmm... so, in my broken Spanish I told the teacher that I was going to sit by the pool and translate for my son! (Sure...) So the teacher begins to rapidly tell me what she needs for our little guy to be comfortable in the water - oh, did I say rapidly? About that time two or three other personnel had come over to our area and were attempting to communicate with body gestures, hand motions and drawing with a pencil and paper. The audience of parents are still watching and waiting... Finally, it is communicated to me that the teacher wants me to put on a bathing suit and climb in the pool to instill confidence in my son! Seriously, are you kidding?...

No, this is not bathing suit season... no, I was not ready for this on so many different levels... but there I was, a mom, and during the next class I was a mom (a very pasty, white mom) in a bathing suit, climbing into a pool with the audience of parents watching (and I swear they were shielding their eyes from the glare off my legs)! I spent two classes in the water with all the students, my son and his teacher - attempting to translate, working with my favorite little boy in the entire world and generally loving the time with him until I had to climb out of the water in front of the same audience of parents. (I was telling myself the entire time that they were more impressed with my diligence as a mother and would never notice the pasty, white legs; or the untoned thighs or the five year old bathing suit that was not meant to be worn anywhere near public view!) After two classes coaching my son through swimming lessons he gained more confidence in his instructor or rather he was pretty sure she wasn't going to say something in another language and then dunk him underwater. He has gone from that experience to diving right in and swimming around on his own!

I have great kids... daring and adventurous. I call them my little fish - or my "Pescaditos"!