Swimming.

Since day one, Wesley has been horrified of putting his face in the water. Considering we live in the hotbox known as Santa Clarita, it has always felt like a necessity for Wesley to acquire some swimming skills. So last summer, we signed him up for swimming lessons through a friend from the church. Wesley made it clear pretty fast that he was not ready for this. His teacher "Miss Debbie" tried everything, but Wesley snapped into "terrified" mode pretty regularly and would not try very much. Shannon and I felt stuck, trying to balance a desire to not do any harm emotionally but at the same time encourage him to overcome this fear. We decided to not sign up Wesley for any classes this summer and just see how he did on his own. When Shannon suggested Wesley try out the life jacket we had gotten him last summer for use in his uncle's boat, he decided to try it out - albeit with me glued to his side. After an afternoon of getting used to it, the life jacket became his best friend. He wouldn't go in the pool without it, as this freed him up to swim wherever he wanted in the pool. However, he still was terrified of his head going in the water and got very skilled at keeping his head up. During a conversation one day, Wesley told Shannon and I that he would put his head in the water if he had goggles (something he turned down last summer). So we picked up a pair and headed back to the pool. We suggested that he try out his goggles without his life jacket and, after some tentative moments, his fear completely disappeared. Within a half hour, he was like a newly-freed dolphin in the water. Not only was he putting his entire face in the water without hesitation, he was kicking and paddling all over the place in excitement. Now we try to get over to the pool to swim a few times a week, and Wesley loves it. It has definitely increased his confidence in trying new things, which is a very good thing.

Photo by the masterful Adrea.