The Joy of Parenting 2

I don't know what to name this post. It might be a mixture of many things. We started swimming classes for my older one. And this was the first time he was attending any kind of class. The only reason we felt right about sending him to these classes were because he loves water, and he was trying to swim with his floats on. So we felt he was ready and would enjoy it.

Surprise, surprise! Day 1 he cried loudly thru out the class. He had to be forced into the pool and forced to do everything the first day.

We became famous, the mom who carried a baby and got a crying kid to swimming classes daily!

The good thing was parents weren't allowed to watch, so we had to drop the kids at the entrance to the pool and leave. So I had 50-60 min to myself, which I spent with my friend from school at a nearby cafe, chatting non stop while enjoying tea and idlis.

I agree that it is not a big deal for kids to cry before going to a class. So I tried to remain calm while I  made 2 crying kids (younger one also would cry as both wanted to be carried by me) get inside the car, strap them in their car seats, drive to the swimming place, walk down from the parking lot, and finally drop my older one. So one can imagine how much I cherished the time I spent at the cafe before I picked him up. And I would be so happy to see him come out with a smile on his face.

I would not have written this post if he hadn't fallen sick (how I wish)! On day 3 of swimming, he threw up and came down with fever. The fever lasted 6 days, the usual course of a viral fever. And for the first time in his life he got eye allergy! He could not open his eyes in the morning after he woke up. He complained about ear pain for a day. Once the fever and eye allergy subsided he started a cough which has lasted for 3 weeks! And the one thing that used to freak me out was him saying he couldn't hear properly.

18 classes, we didn't miss a single class (am not saying it proudly), and the last class they let the parents watch the kids for one hour! I am so tempted to post the video of my boy swimming! YES! He jumps into the water and swims (they haven't taught the breathing part yet).

After the classes got over we had to start him on antibiotics for his cough! His ear is back to normal and we are jumping back to normalcy!

The reason for this post is not to complain about parenting. I have always felt that we learn everyday from everything and everyone. And I have learned and grown a lot as a parent from this experience. I guess it again proves my belief that we need mainly 2 things as a parent - a strong heart and lot of patience!!

There are so many ways to look at it - I could have stopped his classes from day 3. Would have been the easiest choice. But the only thing that kept me going was that I knew that if we worked hard for few days, he would enjoy the experience for the rest of his life! Of course he would have learnt it once he was little older. May be it would have been easier then. But who knows. Well, he has been pestering us to take him swimming (not to the class) and says he wants to swim in his regular pool :) So we have a happy child and a happy parent now :) :)