Little Fish #1 and Little Fish #2

One of the extracurricular activities that we make a rather high priority is swimming lessons, because not only is it fun and healthy to swim, but also the ability to swim could save lives someday--for our children and even for others whose paths cross with our children.  You just never know...

We were glad to have Josiah and David take swimming lessons this past semester, starting in January.  The last lesson was supposed to be March 31--plenty of time to finish before Moriah was born, right?  But then one week we had a big storm, and something happened to the pumps at the swimming pool, and lessons were cancelled for that week while the pumps were fixed, and a make-up lesson was scheduled for April 7...which just happened to be my due date.  As eager as I was for Moriah to be born, I was actually relieved when the morning of April 7 rolled around and I wasn't in labor.  That way, I could go with the boys to their last lesson, which was really important to me because I had--gasp!--not taken pictures at swimming lessons all semester long!  I made sure, at that last lesson, that I took my camera with batteries that were charged, ready to snap away as I watched my two oldest sons in the water.

Jeff is a good swimmer, but I am not.  Although I enjoy being in the water and can paddle around a little bit, I am not even close to being a strong swimmer.  When I was the age of Josiah and David, my parents forced me to take swimming lessons; but I didn't like it because I was afraid to put my head under water! Because I remember well my own extreme reluctance, I have sympathy for other children who have the same fear.  But so far, I haven't needed to pour out my sympathy on any of my children.  Josiah--and now David--have proven that they are like little fish: completely at home in the water and not hesitant at all to get their faces wet and go completely under the water.  I watch them splash and play and swim around and am simply astonished.  I wish I had been like that when I was their age!  :)

Because these pictures were taken during the last class, they show more play activities and less serious swimming instruction.  Just in case you were wondering...  :)

Each week while the two older boys were in the water, Tobin and Shav and I would sit along the edge of the pool, watch the progress of the lesson, and keep ourselves occupied with various fun activities.  Tobin and Shav liked to walk around the deck chair I always sat in; and when they got to my right side, I would quickly stick out my arm and say "roadblock!" and pretend that they couldn't get through.  Then I would tickle them a little before finally releasing them to circle around the chair and do it all over again.

We also took little toy cars to play with and sometimes toy dinosaurs and always books!  This picture reminds me of how Shav would sit on my lap (what little of it was left as Moriah kept growing and growing!) and want me to read book after book to him.  It was a good way to pass the time.

Every week, however, I would start to feel so cramped and uncomfortable as I sat on that hard chair; and I would feel hotter and hotter.  I usually ended up having to fan myself with one of Shav's books, just to get a little relief from the hot, humid air in the "bubble" that covers the pool in the winter and spring.  That's what pregnancy does!  :)

I treasure these times with my boys.  Tobin and Shav usually behaved excellently; and because I really didn't have anything else to do, I could focus on them and enjoy having that time together.

When the lessons were over, Josiah and David would get changed in the locker room; and meanwhile, Tobin and Shav would race up and down in this little hallway.  I think in the picture below, they were pretending to sleep, and that's why they were down on the rug.  But normally, they were up on their feet, big grins on their faces, little legs pumping as fast as they could as they went back and forth in their pretend competition.  They're such buddies to each other!

When I look back on the winter and spring of 2012, I want to remember the simple joy of setting aside all other obligations and simply being fully present when my Little Fish #1 and Little Fish #2 were learning how to swim, my Little Fish #3 and Little Fish #4 were dreaming of the day when they too could be in the water, and my Little Fish #5 was still swimming inside me!  :)