swimming lessons

I have been so crazy lately I literally have forgotten to write in my blog. I want to, but so many other things get in the way. For Example swimming lessons...

Let me tell you that the reason I decided to do swimming lessons this spring is because of a dream and Oprah. Yeah...
I had a dream about 2 months ago now that my son, drowned in the pool during the summer at camp. This camp does include swimming lessons twice a week so I really didn't consider it for real. (I rationalized it as my own total paranoia of water and drowning and I don't really put a lot of weight in dreams. They are usually a manifestation of feelings) Anyway,(this is where Oprah comes into play) I was watching Oprah about 2 weeks ago(which would be over a month after the initial dream) and she had on people who overcame dire circumstances. On the program was a mother who, after trying for years to have a baby with her husband, finally did. (A beautiful blond little man, cute as a button) Well, they decided to go somewhere on a plane and the plane crashed. It threw her and her husband from the plane and because of the child safety seat the boy was still in the burning carcass of a plane. The father (with 2 shattered arms) ran into the wreckage to save the baby, but couldn't. They were rescued and she was fine, but sadly, her husband suffered severe burns on over 75% of his body. He succumbed to his horrible wounds and also died 2 weeks later. Here's where the story affected me...

Oprah was talking to this brave, strong woman and she expressed her heartbreak of losing her child. How it was truly the most intense pain she has ever felt and how it took her years to move past it. A wave of fear came over me and I instantly remembered the dream I had so long ago. I was sobbing over the possibility of this potential death and I immediately signed 2 of my 3 children(Jackie's class was full) for swim lessons,which just so happened to start 3 days later. I was moved by a power that was beyond me. There was no mention of water, swimming or drowning, just this strong, sad woman sitting on stage describing her devastating loss and how she moved on with her life. I couldn't ignore the strongest impulse of my life pulling me in this direction, I felt like it was a message and I do not ignore my inner voice, EVER! Why was this message sent through this woman on Oprah... I don't know, and I don't care, I did what I felt I needed to do. I saved my sons life and it only cost me $100 and some time. My question is why not?

So, that being said we started swimming lessons and Julia was terrified. She was able to keep it together the first week, but this week we pushed her too far. Her instructor had too many children in her class and Julia was obviously the oldest and she was switched to another instructor. She lost her s#!t. I got her in the water, but she did not stay there and she was crying, which is really unlike her! They were real, rain drop sized tears that were truly heartbreaking and I would have been heartbroken if I wasn't so mad about it. I bribed, cheered manipulated, and tried EVERYTHING I could to get her to be comfortable. We watched for a while until her class was over and Jonathan's class started. Thank God he had her teacher too so we watched him swim too. Maybe that will help for next week. I told her that if she swam the whole time next week I would get her a pair of Princess goggles! She seemed excited, but we'll see. In the mean time I am going to chock it up to experience and visualize a better experience for next time. Let's cross our fingers.