A Regular Fish

Luke asked me several weeks ago if he could start swimming lessons. I agreed somewhat hesitantly, wondering if this was a passing fancy or just genuine interest. He is 5, it's probably time to get started because it's really difficult to keep him safe in the pool. Today was the BIG FIRST DAY. I reminded him last night of our agenda for this morning and he was immediately anxious. He couldn't go to sleep, kept calling me back into his room to talk about it. That's never a good sign. Steve tried to give him a pep talk at breakfast. That was met with much scowling and head-shaking. I started a 60 minute countdown, which led to even greater anxiety. I would put his swim clothes on, he would pull them off. I would get mad and start raising my voice, he would furrow his brow and glare at me. Gosh, this is so fun. Steve called and I immediately burst into tears. How can one little 5 year old send me over the edge so quickly?
Five minutes before it was time to go, I found him naked in his room, building something with Legos. I put his swim clothes back on and then he got up and calmly got in the car. He was sweet as pie the whole way there. He told me in the parking lot that he had changed his mind. He was ready to swim.
Thanks be to God!
His classmates didn't show up, so he had one on one instruction with his teacher. That was a major bonus. She taught him the basics very quickly. He loved it and tried everything with enthusiasm. After 30 minutes, she had him jumping off the side of the pool at 4 feet without any flotation. A regular fish on the first day. Lets hope this trend continues...