Perhaps it is in his genes. I harbor fears of the water myself, but Ben seemed to take his fears to a whole new level. Who ever heard of a toddler who hated taking baths? -- who would scream and tremble as if he were facing his imminent death? Well, that was Ben. So, from the time that he was a very little tyke, Ben has taken showers.
Two years ago, and by direction of a previously mentioned Pediatrician (who happens to be on my list of "Least Favorite People"), we enrolled Ben in swim lessons in order to "cure" him of this fear. It was a disaster. He hated it. I have a very vivid memory of forcing a kicking, screaming, scratching, hair-pulling, biting kid, dressed only in a diaper, into his car seat to take him to swim lessons. At that point, we had decided that we couldn't just let him throw a fit and get out of something. So, we told him that he had to go, but he didn't have to do anything he wasn't comfortable doing. We spent a lot of time near the edge of the pool that summer, watching his classmates learning water skills.
There was NO way I was going to sign Ben up for swim lessons again any time soon. So, it came as a great surprise this last Spring, when Ben asked if he could take swim lessons. I signed him up right away.
It was at a different location this time, and things were run much differently. This time, parents were instructed to wait at an area far away from the pool, and the kids were left alone with their instructors.
Day one, the lady in charge of all of the different classes finds me in the parents area and asks, "Are you Ben's mom?" Here we go . . ., I thought. "He's not doing too well. We finally just got him to go into the pool, but he's really fighting it, and crying. We'll keep trying, and I'll let you know how things go." Well, they didn't get much better that day.
After his first swim lesson, I was treated to hours and hours of Ben telling me how much he hated it; asking me, accusingly, why I would sign him up for swim lessons; and stubbornly telling me that he won't participate.
For Family Home Evening that night, we had a lesson on perspective. We talked about how changing our perspective can change our experience. I explained in no uncertain terms that he was going back to swim lessons and that it might be in his best interest to change his perspective so that he might have fun. He explained that he didn't think that he could do that on his own. I asked him if he would like a blessing. He said, "Yes."
Ben received a beautiful blessing that evening from his Daddy. He was told how much he was loved; how talented he was; and he was reminded that he can always pray to his Heavenly Father if he is ever scared or worried.
The next day, we got up, readied ourselves, and headed to swim lessons. We hit some bad traffic on the way, and Ben said, "I hope this traffic doesn't clear up until after swim lessons." Dreading a full week of this attitude, I said a quick prayer for patience, and reminded Ben about changing his perspective and also about his blessing. We arrived on time to swim lessons, and he reluctantly went with his teacher and class to the pool.
Eventually, the lady who had spoken to me on the first day, found me and said that he was doing much better, and even appeared to be having some fun!
After his second lesson, Ben returned to me grinning. As I hugged him, I whispered in his ear, "Did you remember to pray?" He said, "I had soo much fun, I didn't even need to pray!!"
Each day his enjoyment grew, to the point that he was reluctant to leave the water when his lessons were done! He can put his whole head under water!! He is loving it!!
And that, my friends, is our modern day miracle! In fact, he wants to take a second session of lessons this summer!
I love:
