Daniel the Swimmer

Our neverending swimming week is finally over. Last night's class was a makeup for one of the canceled weekend classes; as such, it was scheduled for 6:40, which meant that Tab could attend, unlike the regular Monday through Thursday 4:20 classes. During the weekend sessions in April, Tab and I had developed a routine in which Tab would take Matthew and Daniel into the men's locker room while I would help Stephen undress in the women's locker room. This past week I have had to manage all three boys in the locker room by myself, so I appreciated having Tab's help again.

I sat on the bleachers at the shallow end of the pool, watching the twins in level 3. Tab joined me for awhile, then he went to sit by the side of the pool to watch Daniel in his level 5 group.

About two thirds of the way through the lesson, Tab heard the level 5 instructor ask Lauri, the program head, to watch his group to see if any were ready to advance to the next level. She told the kids to swim freestyle across the pool. Then she pointed to Daniel and asked him to backstroke across.

I happened to look up at this point and saw Daniel performing his backstroke while Lauri watched. The next thing I knew, she was helping him out of the pool and leading him to the level 6 group. Daniel had told me earlier this week, "Miss Lauri said I'm almost ready to graduate to 6," but I was sure he had misheard her so I tried not to make too much of it. Apparently, he was not mistaken. In fact, he was the only kid in his group to be promoted tonight.

The level 6 kids were practicing in the deep end. Unlike the level 5s and lower, level 6 was using the full width of this very large pool. I marveled at Daniel's flawless backstroke as he swam back and forth. Unlike some of the kids who would stop and look around, Daniel swam without any hesitation. He glided effortlessly across the pool, one arm following the other over his head with an almost machine-like precision.

When we first started these lessons last spring, I despaired of Daniel's ever becoming comfortable in the water. Just recently I re-read an entry I wrote concerning one of Daniel's swimming lessons last May. Back then he was in level 2 and afraid even to let go of the side of the pool. I wondered in that entry whether Daniel would ever swim as joyfully and self-confidently as those kids in levels 4 and 5. How far he's come!

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