The Agony of Swim Class

The weather this summer has been a little chilly. Of course I have both P and B signed up in swim class. Well, the pool water is not as warm as it could be. Today was swim class and the sky even looked cold.

B did well. She started moving around the pool on her own. She was in her swim vest and holding onto a pool noodle. After she realized it was fun there was no stopping her. Her lesson ended and she was so excited that she was "swimming".

Next was P's lesson. He has a private lesson with a lifeguard and now I get in the water to help if he freaks out. Right after he gets in he starts shivering, his teeth are chattering and you can see the goose bumps on his skin. I know it is going to be a long swim lesson. He is doing okay but the cold is getting to him. I don't know if it the asperger's that makes him so sensitive to the cold in the water? All I know is he is plotting anyway possible to get out of the pool.

He is fast too. He can just climb out of the pool faster than I can catch him. I feel bad making him get back into the water, though I don't find it nearly as cold as he does. Of course he is all skin and v=bones and I definitely have some extra layers to me. I also am moving around much more in the water while he is doing all he can to not participate.

He is crying and the expression on his face is heartbreaking. I feel like a horrible parent. Why am I keeping him the water? I want him to be able to swim, but I don't want him to hate swimming. Why can't the weather be warmer so he can enjoy swim class. I hate seeing this expression on his face and we do manage to get some things accomplished in swim class.

Finally we are near the end of class. I see the desperation in his eyes, he need the class to be over and I relent. He is out of the water in a flash and is soon surrounded by the warmth of his towel. We only have more week of swim classes left, one more week this year. He is slowly figuring things out. He would be doing so much better if the water was warm. I think we might be looking for an indoor pool soon. I don't want him to lose any of the comfort he is getting.