A Note to Parents, from a Swimming Lessons Instructor

Dear Parents (guardians, care givers, grandparents, etc.)-
    THANK YOU, for investing in your child's safety and well being and enrolling your child in swimming lessons, I really do believe that having the ability to swim is a life saving skill and every kid should at LEAST be able to swim to save themselves. Thank you for spending your hard earned dollars to pay me to teach your kid to swim. I believe every penny you have spent is worth it. I read on the CDC website that an average of ten people die A DAY from drowning  and one in five who die are 14 and younger. It breaks my heart, so thank you for teaching your child to swim.
    Now here's the thing, there is a reason you chose to put your child in swimming lessons and didn't just opt to teach your kid to swim yourself. And somehow the stars aligned and your child ended up in my class. I actually LOVE teaching swimming lessons, and I have been doing it for over 15 years, I love seeing you child progress and see his skills advance. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work with your child. I understand that you want your kid to be the next Michael Phelps, however, not every kid is Michael Phelps. I also realize you come to every swimming lesson and sit on the benches and you spend about 85% of that time playing on your phone (seriously, this doesn't bother me, I have a daughter, I understand the need to space out from time to time) so when it comes time at the end of the session PLEASE don't yell at me for not advancing your child to the next level.
    I don't see any harm in having your child repeat a level, they did learn a lot in this session, its true, however, I don't think you noticed, but your child isn't ready to advance. Their skills aren't at the level they need to be to be successful in the next level. If we pass him to early, he (and probably you and me) will end up really frustrated with the next level and it will take him even longer to gain the skills necessary for that level. Please do NOT put your child up a level, when they haven't passed the previous one, unless, there are some other circumstances (lots of time has passed since the previous session, you practiced hard with your child all summer and he is ready, etc.) happen and you talk to us about it.
    I want the best for your child. I want to see them succeed. PLEASE don't yell at me and write nasty things on my review paper at the end of the session just because your child didn't pass the session. Trust me, one more time in a particular level won't kill them, and they probably won't even notice a whole lot if you don't say much about it.

Sincerely,
   Your Child's Swim Instructor

Swimming Suits

No this isn't some random post about getting ready for swim suit weather. Blah Blah blah, bikinis blah blah blah. I wear a swim suit year round, just the reality. On top of my full time call I also work part time at the local YMCA as a lifeguard and teaching swimming lessons, and in the winter I love to swim laps. Swimming laps seems much less like death than always running on the treadmill.

I am frustrated with swimming suits. I feel like I have tried twelve thousand different brands, speedo, nike, TYR, name it and I have probably tried it. I follow all the proper instructions about how to care for suits and how to preserve them but I feel like my suits get eaten by the chlorine SOOOO quickly. It's frustrating. I hate earning minimum wage and having the suit get eaten so quickly and having to replace it.

I buy grab bag suits because I really don't care what the design is, and I try to buy nice suits not just the ridiculously cheap ones (which get eaten even quicker), and even then it is hardly worth it. It is nuts!

Anyone have anywhere where I can buy reasonably nice suits for cheapish? Does anyone else have this problem? Anyone have any suggestions?

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Overwhelmed with life.

It is ridiculously rough to be my dog.
I include this picture just because I think it is hilarious
how she is sleeping on the chair. I LOVE my sweet puppy.

Seriously. I don't know what it is that has put me over the edge but I am there and Lent is just beginning.

I feel like I have 12,000 things going at once and all of the things are happening simultaneously. All good things, but 12,000 of them at once. This post is a venting post.

Life at church:

• Ash Wednesday is tomorrow
• My colleague has a flight to Hawaii for 3 weeks starting this weekend
• 7th & 8th grade retreat Friday night
• Leadership retreat Sunday afternoon/evening
• it's Lent (enough said)

Life outside of church:

• Miscellaneous projects that occupy my life
• I became a co-director of a camp here in town with a friend and seriously it hasn't been updated in about 15 years and massively needs it to bring it back up to code - seriously who doesn't keep a camp up to code - will be amazing when it is finished
• Swimming lessons - I actually really enjoy teaching swimming lessons about 98% of the time despite the fact that 70% of the parents drive me batty and assume I am there to cause serious fears and damage to their child in the pool - seriously people getting your kids toes wet won't kill them - you signed them up for swimming lessons not standing next to the pool lessons - take a chill pill

Life at home:

• I am getting married in 4 months and there is so much done and yet it seems like so much to do
• I am officially over the snow, I need to be able to be outside - I want to run outside - I hate treadmills
• My house is never clean - or so it feels
• I feel like I have 15 projects going at home for a variety of things and can't manage to get any done
• My dog needs to be able to go for a long run - she is starting to go stir crazy too
• I feel like my house stinks due to a lack of fresh air - I tried opening the window yesterday just to air it out a bit and was freezing cold so had to shut them after about fifteen minutes

Life personally:

• I am annoyed at the 30 minute limits on the cardio machines at the YMCA - how am I suppose to get in a long run in 30 minutes and switching machines is lame [although I am happy that many of the "new years resolution people" are slowly but surely fading out - while I am sad for them they aren't making their goals - I am happy to have some time back on the machines - I am evil and mean apparently]
• I am jazzed about getting married this summer but it feels like there is a lot I need to do before Marc can move in - clean out half my closet, and make space for his stuff somewhere - I must keep purging things and giving them away
• I want a floo network [as in Harry Potter] so all of my friends can quickly and easily get together - I could use a good hangout with some of my favorite people. Not to mention I would love to be able to meet up with my family more frequently. I hate that my call is so far away from friends and family. 
• I am saddened that I don't know when my next vacation is or where I will go
• I wish when the schools in town got a snow day it meant that adults did too [although that wouldn't help with getting my massive to-do list done]
• I have been taking a ton of pictures - hence the instagram explosion on the right - and I have had the chance to take a ton of pictures with my "nice camera" of different mostly church related events and it has been wonderful - I feel like I have already shot about 5,000 photos this year which is close to catching up to last years measly amount. I dare to even say there has been at least 10 decent ones. Whoop Whoop.
• I got a new (technically 2nd) cousin this week! I can't wait to meet her - I need to figure out a way to get home to meet her. From the pictures my cousin has been texting me she is beautiful! [another good reason for the floo network]

Another Session in the Books

I have successfully made it through yet another session of swimming lessons. Confession: I love teaching swimming lessons 90% of the time. I am always a little sad when the end of a session comes, it seems like I have just begun to earn the trust of the parents and kids. The kids are finally willing to try something new and different and probably even scary.  This session was a little weird because our aquatics center had to close last week for major improvements and re-tiling and re-painting and all that good jazz. However that means that every class had to be taught in the lap pool, read "really deep and scary pool" to three, four, and five year olds.

I have been prepping the kids for the lap pool day for weeks, and we did it. We survived, there was some weeping and even some gnashing of teeth by the parents, but the kids all made it through and dare I say even had some fun while we were at it. The unfortunate part is that then the kids didn't get to play under the mushroom on the last day like usual. I don't like the end of a session because it means I get all new kids in two weeks when we start again. I don't like the end of a session because it means learning a whole new set of kids and parents, some have graduated past my level of classes (I enjoy the super little kids - I teach a couple classes with older kids but mostly I have the super little kids). I like the end of a session because it does mean I get all new kids when we start again in two weeks. I like the end of a session because it means I get to meet a whole new set of parents and kids. It is a catch 22, I want to hold on to some kids and I want to let others progress. It is always the challenge of teaching, much like normal teaching.

It has been a great session of bubble blowing, jumping in, getting our whole faces wet, and kicking our legs, and much talk of believing in one another. It happens every session and I love watching the transformation of the kids from week one to week eight. Thanks parents for the joy and honor of being able to play a role in teaching your children how to swim. Thanks parents for trusting me with your most prized possession, your child, it is an honor and in light of recent events, I know everyone is holding their kids a little tighter. Thanks for the chance to work with you and your kids. I look forward to another session in January.

20 Chore Tuesday

Today's To-Do List:

• Attend BAY meeting
• Teach 3 swimming lessons
• prep for catechism tomorrow night
• update project 366 of 2012
• drink 4 camelbacks of water
• email my elf4health
• wrap Christmas presents
• pray the dog doesn't unwrap said gifts
• break down stack of cardboard in the kitchen
• clean kitchen
• write thank you for a gift card
• send thank you for a gift card
• call parks and rec to discuss broomball 
• walk the dog
• work on Family Faith Journey Curriculum for Sunday
• make copies for FFJ for Sunday
• return book to senior pastor
• clean office (it is slightly embarrassing how dusty and gross it has gotten - time to dust and run the vacuum)
• wash sheets and towels
• start working on certificates of completion for swimming lessons
• drop off package at the pots office