Life with a side of Silly: {how goggles and the WT pool have changed our lives}

I could have titled this post lots of different things: Our Day at Red Oaks Water park, Emily and Paige's August Adventure, A Day spent doing 1,000 laps on the Lazy River at Red Oaks Water Park, etc....

But truly, it's goggles and the crazy WT pool in our backyard that have made this day possible.

Let me back up a few years. Back to when we enrolled Emily in swim class. I thought this would be a no-brainer. Enroll your child in swim class, after a few weeks of classes, your child at least would kinda, sorta, know how to swim. Yeah, not so much. Not only did she not know how to swim, her fear of swimming in general became bigger. Thinking back on it, I now know that she was actually frustrated with herself. She really believed that after the first day, she would be able to swim and that was that. When that didn't happen, she truly didn't believe that she could EVER learn, so she just kind of gave up.

I didn't realize this until we paid for three more sessions of swim. She NEVER passed level one. And the fear grew. She relied heavily on a floatation vest that we were given by our cousins. And when she wasn't allowed to wear it, she would stay in the shallow end. Or not swim at all.

Fast-forward to last year. I bought her some fancy goggles. And we put up the 10 foot pool in our backyard. Now, we have had this pool for the last four summers. And since it's only up to her knees, it's been a non-scary swim place for Emily. But last year, she decided that since she had her fancy goggles, and two plus years of "swimming" experience in our pool, she would venture under the water. And, LO AND BEHOLD, it wasn't a scary place. And the girl began to swim underwater. She got water on her face - and not by accident. And she LOVED it. And this year, she finally decided that she could SWIM. Not quite Olympic grade, not any known stroke, but swim.

So now, I feel like I can enroll her back in swim lessons to actually learn swimming stroke basics. YEA! It only took FIVE years!

So, Paige. She is exactly the same. But this time, I didn't bother enrolling my scared-y cat Paige in swim classes. I KNEW she would be that kid that sat on the sidelines and refuse to even get in the pool.

So this year, I bought her goggles. I figured, MAYBE, she would move a bit faster than her sister. Nope. Not really. She spent the whole time we were at my sister's pool a few weeks ago on the sidelines.

And yesterday, at the waterpark, she was MISERABLE. I spent the first couple hours re-thinking the whole idea about even bringing her.

And then, after lunch, she decided - and let this be known, it was PAIGE'S decision - to have FUN. She put on her goggles and dunked her whole head in the wave pool for anyone who would watch her. She went around the lazy river with just her sister. She went back and played at the play park. She even contemplated getting soaked by the big bucket....but decided against it at the last minute. Baby steps.....