Swim Lessons

Swim lessons are done! I signed the monkeys up for a two week Y class from 6:30-7:15pm after learning that due to the heinous “leaving kids in vans to die” situation in Memphis, the Y would no longer be picking the kids up from school for lessons like last year. Mama Whale, the renowned swim instructor, really helped Satchel get over his fear of water last year and I looked forward to her getting both him and Jiro swimming floatie-free after 8 short lessons. I just assumed all the parents would follow suit and that the Y class would be one big party.


Wrong. We were the only ones who signed up! There were only two other boys in the class and Mama Whale was nowhere to be found. But that was okay. The monkeys love to swim and they were both excited about lessons. I was excited too, despite the fact that 6:30-7:15pm really is an awful time for a scheduled activity.


Their instructor—who’s name I never got—was a young man who was very nice and gentle. Both Satchel and Jiro liked and trusted him. They enthusiastically listened to his instructions and jumped fearlessly into the water when it was their turn to practice. Lessons covered swimming on their tummies, backs, and sides; holding their breath and retrieving rings from the bottom; and jumping in the deep end. On our Saturday visits to the Germantown Civic Center I have seen Jiro hold his breath and swim underwater for 3-4 feet and display an amazing sense of self-assuredness. Satchel has gone from a doggie paddle to a real breast stroke and even tries to do flips underwater. He too is very confident in the water. They have both officially shunned their floaties.