Every year my sister and mom pressure me to put the kids in swimming lessons at the city pool. And every year so far I have hemmed and hawed until it was too late. Not because I'm a big slacker (this time) just because there's something about the whole swimming lessons that rubs me wrong. Maybe it's my bright and shiny new anti-establishment ideals (stick it to the man! No swimming lessons! So there!!!) or just my memories of swimming lessons at the pool.

We have a pool. Granted it's not a lap pool and it's not deep enough to HAVE to swim (for your life) in but it's plenty deep to learn the basics, to learn to float and paddle and hold your breath and figure out the buoyancy of your own body. And in it, without crowds of strangers splashing and chaos, Aiden has gotten over most of his fear of the water.

I know it's radical and crazy to think that my kids could learn to swim without swimming lessons. But hey I guess I am radical and crazy.

And now there's this.

Swimming lessons will be held at 10:20 and Kathrynn's summer class gets out at 10. Since all of my sister's kids will be going to lessons She's certain that Kathrynn will need to go too, or feel left out. She went so far as to suggest that if I expected her to pick up Kathrynn from school (which she has been doing) that she would HAVE to be in swimming lessons.

I don't know what to do.

It's not like swimming lessons would be horrible just wasted money in my opinion and one more 'required' pile of crap to throw into my way to busy summer. What it would mean would be that Kathrynn would be up at 6:30 am to be at my sisters by 7:30 to be at the school from 8-10 and then at swimming lessons until 11 and then back at the school for lunch at 11:45.

NO NO NO NO!!!

I can't handle it! I HATE HATE HATE having so much of my day already planned out for me. Or for her. Maybe I just hate it because I feel like my sister's dictating everything. I feel like I should just hand Kathrynn over to my sister and say "do what you like with her, call me if she has a free moment and wants to see me." :(

*sigh*

Update:
In the end it didn't matter because by the time my sister went to sign everyone up there were only two spots left and her twins took them. :) All my worrying was for nothing. I feigned disappointment.

Last night we went to the public pool session and I was so impressed with Kathrynn's swimming skills that I patted myself on the back. No, she may not be an Olympic swimmer (though she might, won't discount that entirely ;), but she COULD swim to save her life. My sister brought water wings for all of the kids. Kathrynn thought they were cool and used them for a while but in the end I asked her if she would like to try without them and she was swimming all over that pool! And doing cannon balls off the sides.

Aiden too has made huge leaps of progress since last summer. Last night he was jumping into the baby pool (which doesn't go over his head) with no one spotting him. He had a fantastic time and didn't freak out once which is a HUGE leap from my little boy who used to cling to me for dear life whenever he was near a pool.

Maybe when they are confident swimmers I will put them in lessons. To learn the proper strokes and life saving. If they're into it. :)