Swim Class Success

I know I've talked about how much Teddy enjoys the adapted aquatics class at our local YMCA. For whatever reason, the YMCA struggled to get sufficient volunteers this session, so Teddy's had a different "teacher" most weeks. But there's one young lady who has worked with him 4 or 5 times and is absolutely fantastic with him.

First of all, she's young and has the energy and strength to manhandle  or wrestle him away from the hot tub keep him safe the entire hour-long class. I feel really bad when it's one of the retired volunteers because I know I don't want to be solely responsible for Teddy in a pool for a whole hour.

Second, she's so happy. She always has a smile on her face, and she's perfectly willing to make goofy faces and sounds and play peek-a-boo with Teddy. This obviously makes her the coolest person ever ... or at least for the hour that swim class lasts.

Third, she gives Teddy more independence in the pool than I would. I would go so far as to say that I actually cringed a few times when I saw how far away she was from Teddy, which wasn't really far at all but was just out of arm's reach. But, this is a good thing for Teddy because he's still perfectly safe. (It's not like he doesn't swallow water when I'm holding onto him in the pool.) And it shows me that he can do more than I would have imagined.

That's Teddy cruising along the pool with his teacher following behind - hands off him.

Tonight I watched Teddy go hand-over-hand along the edge of the pool for probably 25 feet without anyone touching him or helping him. I saw him grab a pool noodle from the side of the pool and hold onto it by himself to start kicking toward his teacher. His teacher gives him the freedom to show off these skills where I don't have the confidence in him to even let him try.

I only imagine what he could have done in the second half of swim class if someone hadn't accidently pooped in the pool, causing an evacuation. At least Teddy wasn't that someone ... this time.