Different Strokes

We have some swimmers in this house! Tonight wrapped up another session of lessons and Audrey passed off level 7, which means for the next session she gets to be at the pre-team level. She really is a natural in the water. I hope she will stick with it. She loves to dive, and is learning all the different basic strokes. Her favorite, and fastest, is the back stroke. Livvi just finished the first level. It is amazing to see how far she came in only a month. She started out as a kid who liked to PLAY (not swim) in the water, as long as her feet were firmly on the bottom of the pool and her head was well above the water level. The first time the teacher took her out in the water, I thought Olivia was going to strangle the poor lady, with the Darth Vader-like death grip she had around her neck. In eight lessons, she transformed into a very enthusiastic and splashy, if somewhat inefficient, little swimmer. She puts her face right down in the water, gets her legs going and her arms flailing, and MOVES across that pool, with the help of a noodle tied around her middle. She still HATES jumping into the water, and is not a huge fan of floating on her back, but we are making progress. So we signed them both up for another round of lessons, then will take a Christmas break.

Duncan is also taking private swimming lessons. He has always loved swimming, and it is really good therapy for his sensory issues. He had some lessons when he was a little kid, and I wish we would have kept him going at it. Thanks to the generosity of grandparents, we finally got him back in the groove. Swimming is about the only thing he seems to enjoy almost as much as video games. His teacher is pretty experienced at teaching all different kinds of kids, and she even has him floating on his back, which is something he has never been able to do before now. Considering that the kid has zero fat on his body, this is a big accomplishment. I, on the other hand, have noticed that floating seems to get easier and easier every time I get in the pool. One of the few benefits of a changing metabolism, I guess....

Anyhow, it has been fun for the kiddos to have something new to do. Now we just need to find something for Will. He opted out of swimming, I guess it just isn't his cup of tea. He is suddenly VERY into orchestra, which is great, and because he practices more, he is improving quickly. But I would like to find him something physical to do. He suggested fencing lessons. Don't think they offer those in Cache Valley.