The Little Fish That Still Can't Swim

I'm close to tossing my son, AJ, in the pool and just watch him paddle his way back to the edge of the pool, or worse, sink to the bottom (in which case, I'll leap in after him, of course!). Six classes, five private lessons and $140 have come and gone, and AJ is no close to swimming than I am to cross-country skiing.

Oh, he's got his basics down pat. He can blow bubbles with his face in the water. He can kick his legs out behind him. Sometimes, he can even extend his arms and make little scoopers with his hands that seem to be beginnings of little swim strokes. Getting them all to work together is another story. Somehow, once either my or his instructor's hand lets go, AJ forgets what he's doing and just freezes. His body goes ramrod straight and he inevitably starts to sink.

I'm reminded by an Introduction to Philosophy class that I had in college. My professor was telling us that he can only give us so much tools and materials to begin a path towards reflection and philosophy, but in the end, it's up to us actually go down that path. Here he gives us an example of teaching somebody how to swim. A person can take as much instruction in swimming as he can, but until he jumps into the water, he can never swim. A phrase that sticks to my head is Fr. Ferriols, S.J.'s line: "Lundagin mo baby!" ("Leap in [to the water], baby!")

So back to my son, should I take that example literally and throw him in? I doubt that he's going to willingly leap in the water. But then again, I don't want to be thrown in jail for child endangerment. Hahaha! So, what do I do? I signed him up for two more private lessons, but after that I'm pulling the plug... until I see some improvement.

I must say that I'm surprised that it's taken AJ this long to learn how to swim. This boy looovvvees being in the water, be it in the pool or in the tub. Heck, he never even misses the chance to jump in the puddle when he sees one! So what is this deal with not yet swimming?! Anyway, it's already August and summer will be over before we know it. I'm hoping that all that time and money have not gone to waste, and he'll finally realize how his newfound skills click together and go swimming on his own. In the meantime, allow me to put on my proud mommy face for everytime he shows off how hard he can kick and how long he can blow bubbles in the water.