Fun in Wa'er!

My boys went to their swimming lesson for the first time today. It was a momentous event for the whole family. Both boys, aged 11 and six, are in the same beginners’ class. The older one was enrolled in swimming back in the Philippines some four years ago but he did not want to go back after the first session. He is asthmatic and had very frail health back then. The insensitive instructor let him swim in an outdoor pool under a pouring rain for an hour. That evening he got the colds and was sick for a week after that. He never gave swimming more than a passing thought after that experience.

Fast forward to today, we were able to persuade him to give swimming a second chance here in England. So it was quite a funny sight to see him – big as he is, in beginners’ class, towering over his 4-6 year old “classmates”.

On the other hand, my little boy has had no experience whatsoever with swimming prior to today and he was literally quaking while in the pool. The fear was painted all over his face. We could see him from afar literally shaking! He finds it really hard to breathe under the shower so the fear must be due to his not being able to breathe normally when in water. I felt a twinge of anxiety seeing my baby go through that first lesson, but I think it is necessary for him to go through it. What is important is that he learns to swim as it is a basic life skill.

This important event comes in the heel of the saddest news I have heard this year – the death of my friend’s son due to drowning. All the more I feel the need to let them learn how to swim. While it is not a guarantee that they will be absolutely safe in the water, being able to swim will immensely free me from anxiety everytime they are in water.

My husband and I can’t swim, because back then, we did not have the luxury of having swimming lessons. In other words, we missed having fun in the water - whether it be the pool, the beach or the river. We are both happy that today, our kids need not miss out on that fun, what with all the fancy water sports and activities we have invented so far. I call that progress from generation to generation.