25 Meters

25 meters.

That is the length of the swimming pool where my son as been taking lessons.

This week, for the first time, Kai swam the length of the pool completely on his own, without wearing a noodle, without stopping, without any help.

My wife was very excited to tell me the news when she got home from his lesson. On his first attempts, he got scared and paused along the side of the pool. But then he gained confidence and went the whole way from one end to the other. His form wasn’t perfect, she said, but he did it.

I was thrilled to hear the news, of course. But I think my wife was even more overjoyed. And that is because, months ago, she was very skeptical that Kai would ever be able to do it.

Back then, he was literally kicking and screaming not to go to his lessons. He didn’t want to get into the water, let alone try to swim. And when he did get into the water, he was very anxious. He had to have his security blanket, a foam noodle, around his body as it helped keep him afloat.

To try to overcome his resistance, my wife had promised Kai that if he ever swam the length of the pool on his own, he would get a certain very special reward (which shall not be mentioned here). I was upset when I found out about that promise. The reward was much more than I wanted to promise. But she said that I had nothing to worry about. Kai would never be able to do it, she said.

I wasn’t quite as skeptical. But I have to admit that the progress he has made has come even faster than I thought.

25 meters.

At the beginning, it could have been a mile. Now, it doesn’t seem so far.

Don’t you just love it when your kids exceed expectations?


P.S. Fortunately, Kai has not mentioned the prize, so I am hoping that he has forgotten all about it. And I don’t want anyone to remind him of it!