Eeyore Swims!

Ruthie, sad to say, is a bit like her dad and me...couch potatoes. I don't have to allow her to watch t.v. for her to be a potato. She has a world stuffed inside of her head. And when she's not allowed to veg in front of some electronic device, she sits on the couch and dazes off...for hours. So, when I found a physical activity that she moderately likes...well, I threw her into it, literally kicking and screaming. Oh alright, it has been more like whining and moping and passive aggressively resisting.

Last summer I signed both the older kids onto the local pool's swim team and was shocked to find out Ruth was a bit of a natural. She was only six, a rather young age to be swimming on a team, at least I believe so, and holding her own. Her times were as good as her brother's times and she was two and a half years younger than him. In fairness to Joshua, he has a ton of muscle mass to haul around. He sinks like a rock.

Either way, Ruthie's talent came as a bit of a surprise. So, of course, like any mother, I want to put her into the thing that gets her the most recognition and accolades. It would be good for her self-esteem, I figured. So, when fall came around, and she had had enough of a break from swimming, I signed her up for lessons to help her improve and keep her exercising. Well, I would have thought that I signed her up for boot camp. This half-hour, once a week, torture was almost more than she could bear from the sound of her carrying on. I pitied her teacher. Sure, I teach swimming, but there is a truth about parents and kids. Kids, often, will not learn from their parents, and this is more than true for Ruth. I dragged her out of more than one lesson this past winter, threatening. She'd shape up, only to do it again the next week. Sigh.

So, when she agreed to swim on the team again this year, I was a bit taken aback. But mean mom that I am, I was going to make her do it anyway. I figure of all the ways to get a little exercise in your life, this was the one activity she did enjoy more than the others. (We're trying soccer this fall. Wheeeeeew boy...I hope she will like running!) We made an agreement, a no-whining, crying, moping agreement.

Tonight was their first meet. I was proud of my lil Ruthie. At one point her goggles filled with water and she couldn't see, ran into the lane line, but she didn't stop. Not once. She pushed on through to the end of her race. And the best part was, she was really really happy through the whole meet and very pleased with herself. She had fun, and that was all that mattered.