Lessons Learned at Swimming Lessons
I am under no illusions that my 2 1/2 year old is actually learning to swim, but Sydney and I have been enjoying our weekly jaunts at the mommy-and-me Perch class at our local YMCA. We have our routine down--we get there early so I can squeeze in a short workout and she can play, then we head up to the locker room to get our suits on.
Every 8-week session, there are new families in the class. I am always curious to see what new connections Sydney and I can make with the kids and parents who "swim" with us. There are the usual assortment of stay-at-home moms, as we go on a weekday morning. Sometimes the token grandparent, but all quite normal-looking folks hoping to have a little fun and bonding time with their toddlers.
But I have found that beyond the average-seeming exterior sometimes lurks the strange, odd, or even bizarre. And I have an example from each of our last two sessions...
...It was the third class of the last session, and there had been some transition in the class because of enrollment, blah blah blah, we had been "taught" by three different teachers, all of whom were delightful at singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and encouraging the two and three year olds to blow bubbles and kick their legs.
Sydney was lovin' life, doing her reach-and-pull, jumping in (I don' wanna get my head unner, mommy!), and trying to float on her back. But out of our watery bliss, we heard one of the other mommies talking with the swimming supervisor. And by "talking," I mean "forcefully and loudly voicing her displeasure."
This mom was letting the Y woman have it. She practically had a three-point speech of grievances:
- There is no consistency! There have been three different teachers! How can my child learn anything if she is starting fresh each week!
- I was told this is a more advanced class! There is too much singing and not enough skill development! My child is beyond this!
- (OK, so she had a two-point speech.)
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