Emma's 1st Swimming Lesson

Well, all three of the girs started swimming lessons Tuesday night. Grace and Olivia are vetrans, but this was Emma's very first lesson. She was so excited to be like the "big girls" that she was in the van and buckled in 10 minutes before we had to leave. I just wish her enthusiasm would have lasted throughout her whole lesson. We had prepared her for what the lesson would entail, plus she had sat through many swimming lesson watching Grace and Olivia. We told her that she would go in and sit on the edge of the pool and listen to her teacher and don't forget to wave to mommy and daddy (that's always the cutest part). When they opened the door and called her name, she walked right in and half way down the pool deck. I had to call her back and told her to wait until her teacher was ready to go in. It was at this moment that she realized that her teachers were 2 big college men. She immediately burst into tears, "I want my mommy!" The aquatics director (who is a female) kindly took her hand and walked her down the pool deck and sat her down on the side of the pool. At this point she wasn't crying, but she looked scared to death. When it was her turn to get into the pool, she again began sobbing, "I want my mommy!" I was frantically waving on the other side of the glass, thinking that if I just could get her attention and give her the "thumbs up" sign, everything would be O.K., but she was too upset and wouldn't look over at me. Dan finallly said, "Just go in and comfort her-she's killing me." I went around into the pool area (with 2 other mothers who were doing the same thing), and leaned over and told her that she was O.K. and she needed to be a big girl and stop crying. I also told her teacher to just put her in the water. She sat through the entire class, crying on and off on the side of the pool, "Hold me mommy", but I just ignored her pleas for help and kept pushing her along. I felt like the meanest mom in the world, and even worst when the other 2 moms let their crying kids get out of the water and leave (no, reallly in my heart, I know that I was doing the right thing). After the class, I apologized to the teacher and told him that Emma was so excited about class and she loves to swim, in fact, she jumps in all by herself and swims all over outside in the big pool. He said, "I know. I have seen her. She's the smallest kid out there that can jump in by herself. She's just afriad of me because I'm a man. It's common with kids her age." In the locker room, I told Emma that she can't cry on Thursday because she has to take swimming lessons in order to swim in Grammy and Papa's pool-that's the rule. She was listening intently. I asked, "Are you afraid of the water?" "No." "Then tell mommy what you are afraid of so I try and make it better for you." She burst into tears and said, "I'm afraid of the boys, but I want to swim in Grammy and Papa's pool." We all talked to her and tried to pump her up. Her regular babysitter's daughter works at the YMCA, so we told her that the boys were friends of Miss Shannon's and that she told them to be nice to Emma and that they are really funny. She started to laugh when we told her this. We'll see if it works! I'll keep you posted after we go back tonight for round two!!!!