The Swimmer

The week before lessons, this boy did not want to put his head underwater at all, and on the rare occasion that he did, he had to wipe his eyes with a towel immediately upon emerging from the water.

The whole experience was not without its glitches, though. Last Sunday, the weekend between our swim lesson weeks, our family trip to the public pool to practice ended abruptly when, in his enthusiasm,  Gideon started trying to gulp down water instead of air, got choked up, started coughing, and kept coughing until he threw up.

Fortunately, we could see what was coming and Jeremy hoisted him out of the pool just in time for the regurgitated food to land on the cement beside the pool.  Unfortunately, this was still cause enough for the powers-that-be to shut down the pool for the rest of the day.  Yes, folks, in our eagerness, we closed down the city pool.  Yet, Gideon was not fazed (not even upset, really) and soldiered on, jumping back into swim lessons eagerly Monday morning.

I'm bursting with pride at his accomplishment - he had a goal and he got in that pool and worked for it every day for two weeks, overcoming fear, discomfort, and unfamiliarity.  He's well on his way to becoming the best swimmer in the house!