swim | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘swim’

Because I Can

Posted in life, The Hubby, The Kids, WONDER, tagged because I can, Freedom, last day, making bed, out for dinner, preparing, prepping, School, Summer, summer break, swim on September 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

As the sun rises (later than back in June … another sign of the impending doom of tomorrow) on this last day before the start of the new school year, GO BACK TO BED! This is IT! The last chance to sleep in for a very long time. Start enjoying the last day, by sleeping in.

I am one of those people who preps and prepares for things rather early. For instance my school supplies were all purchased by the first week of August (I buy most things throughout the year, and stockpile them). Unfortunately, I also mentally prep and plan, and that results in me fretting and fearing for days before an event.

Not this year! Nope! After I have slept in (which sadly means some time after seven but before eight), I will have coffee, on the patio … because I can!

And that will be my motto for the day, because I can.

I man not make my bed, because I can.

I may not get dressed until noon, and it might be from my pj’s to my bathing suit. Maybe I will take a mid day dip, because I can!

I may not cook (okay, my family would say that is nothing new, for this summer, but hey, they say grazing is healthier, right?), but instead have “get it yourself meals” (I personally love this kind of meal).

I may crawl back in my bed in the afternoon and read a book, or write a blog post, or have a nap … because I can!

I may invite hubby to take me out to dinner, because I can.

I may take a walk, because I can.

I may make s’mores on the gas fire-pit, with the family, BEFORE the sun sets, because I can!

I may watch a comedy in the evening that brings me close to peeing my pants, because I can!

I may, I may, I may … because this is the last day of summer vacation, and I can!

Besides, tomorrow morning, when the kids and I drag out butts from our beds and get ready for school/work, my dear hubby will be dancing around the house singing with the guy in the commercial below, because it is his last day of vacation … and he can.

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Learn to Swim

Posted in life, The Hubby, WONDER, tagged child drowned, drowned, drowning, fear of water, floating, how to swim, learn to swim, learning to swim, sink, swim, swim lessons, Swimming on July 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Swimming has always been a big part of my life. I remember biking every day of the summer to the local swimming pool, to meet with friends and cool off from the summer heat. The public pool was a place of memories and fun.

It was also, for a short time, a place of total and utter humiliation.

I was about thirteen when my parents signed me up for swimming lessons the first time. Imagine a five foot giant surrounded by half a dozen preschoolers and you will get the full image of my experience.

Thankfully, within a week of lessons, I had progressed to a group where I was not the tallest in the pool (other than the instructor). I had never become an exceptional swimmer, but I loved the water.

When our children were born, swimming was a skill that they learned about the same time that they could walk. I never wanted them to be in water and not be able to stay afloat.

When we bought our current home, complete with a swimming pool, I went out and bought a life jacket for our youngest, who was not yet a swimmer. The nightmares that I experienced over purchasing a house with a pool, kept me sleep-deprived for weeks.

Within a week of being in our pool, our son with swimming like a fish.

My eldest daughter teaches swim lessons, at our pool, as well as at the swimming pools of her clients. She also coaches for a swim club. Swimming has been a huge part of her life.

She often speaks of how young children (toddlers and younger) are eager to enter the water, but it is the non-swimming adults who experience and express fear of water the most.

I was recently speaking with someone who is fearful of the water, and showing them how to float (ah the starfish float, my first swimming lesson). The person (adult) responded, “I have tried, but it is impossible for me to float.”

It is true that this person cannot float, but it is not her physical body that cannot float, it is the fear within her mind, because she has not committed to learning to swim that makes her sink. And there is no reason for this fear to continue, as adult-based swim lessons can be very appropriate and beneficial.

Recently, near our home community, two people died due to non-swimming. One was a young child (under the age of two), who jumped or fell into a swimming pool. The child’s grandmother jumped in to save her grandchild, but, as a non-swimmer, she herself also drowned.

Now a family mourns not one, but two people.

Do yourself, and those around you, who you love, a favor, learn to swim.

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