The Swim Saga and Thursday in General

So today was Kaylee's last swim day. All of yesterday and all of this morning, she had one thing on her mind: The Teacher Said We Could Go Down The Big Slides Today. It was free swim, the end of the lessons. So we got there, and Kaylee asked if she could go down the slide, and her instructor said no, she wasn't quite tall enough. Kaylee hesitated, and then said "But I reach the bar. PLEASE can I go?" The instructor hesitated again, and then said it was up to Kaylee, but that she knew it was seven feet deep, right? Kaylee comes running to me and asks my permission next. Kaylee can't really swim yet, and life jackets aren't allowed on the slides. She went from being scared of getting her face wet to trying to bite off more than she can chew in 16 days. I couldn't exactly hop in the water and catch her in my white pants and t-shirt. But I didn't want to discourage her efforts. Her instructor wasn't interested in getting in the (cold) water to help her. So I enlisted the help of another life guard who was already in the water, and said that the girl going down the slide was really not ready, but wanted to try the slide, and would he help her once. He agreed, so I gave Kaylee the thumbs-up (she was waiting at the top of the slide), and down she went. She was nervous, but she did it, and she went Whooshing down into the deep end, all the way under water, and then up she came, holding her breath and doing her best to dogpaddle. She was (barely) keeping her head above water, but she couldn't make any forward progress, so the lifeguard thankfully grabbed her and steered her to the side of the pool. I am not the nervous type, but I admit, that got my heart rate up a bit. That was a very brave thing for her to do and I'm glad the other lifeguard agreed to help so she had the chance to try something a little scary that was an accomplishment for her. I put up some photos from today on her website; I cropped in this one so you could see in the water, and the uncropped one shows how close the lifeguard actually was, watching her. And that was the note she ended her swim lessons on; one triumphant whoosh into the deep end. :) Oh, she didn't pass into Level 3, it was recommended she stay in Level 2. I think she can't front float yet...or make a lot of forward momentum without a life jacket on. But considering how terrified she was of getting in the water just a few weeks ago, and that now she's jumping right in, dunking her head, going down slides, etc., well, I'd say the progress has been remarkable and well worth the time. We'll keep working on it and she'll be floating and swimming in no time!

This morning after Kaylee's swim lesson, we headed out to Kokomo and flew the 172RG with Bryce. She rode in the back seat, and she didn't say a peep for the entire flight. She was pretty bored back there the one time I looked back at her, but she did a terrific job being patient, and I was pretty proud of her! I made sure to tell her so, too. I hate it that she's bored doing something a lot of people would love to be able to do, but that's the way life works I guess. We left there and hit lunch at Mike's Pizza with Steve, Chuck and Judy, and then ran to CVS to pick up some stuff, the Post Office, and home. Time to pack up, clean up, eat, do a bit of last minute stuff that needs done prior to leaving for the weekend (water plants, check. Kitty litter box container replaced, check. Trash out, check. iPod charged, camera battery charged, check and check.)

Then we'll then be home for a whole 5 days before packing back up and heading out for the big one--Oshkosh. :O