Cate has always been an independent, brave girl who is up for a new adventure at all times. Scary roller coaster at Disneyland? No problem. Giant waves in the ocean? She wants to try them. Scary book or movie? More likely to scare Christopher than Cate. New school or drop-off experience without mom (like Vacation Bible School)? I get a hug and a kiss and wave good-bye as she heads off to try her big girl things. She's my own little Dora the Explorer -- full of adventure with a smile.

Until now with swim lessons. We've loved swim lessons -- great exercise, good skills, good water safety, nice kids, nice parents. It's been a pleasant experience all around. Cate watched Christopher in the pool for over 2 years until she was finally able to hop in herself. The first day in the pool last Fall, while other kids cried and screamed and didn't want to put their face underwater, Cate happily blew her bubbles, rang the bell, and headed into increasingly higher levels. She's a 3-year old who has made it already to level 4 -- not an easy task. I've had "swim moms" jokingly ask if we'll give them tickets to the Olympics when Cate is on the Olympic swim team -- her determination, eagnerness, and joy from swimming was so obvious and great to see in such a young swimmer.

Our regular pool is closed so we had to switch to a different pool for lessons this Fall. And since the move to a different pool, Cate cries giant crocodile tears at every lesson. She ends up out of the pool at least 10 minutes early, unwilling to get back in. Today, we thought we had it figured out -- the teachers were letting her learn her level 4 skills in the shallow end of the pool and she was jumping and playing in between her sets with the instructor. Then all of a sudden she decided she needed her mommy and began to cry hysterically. She hung tightly to my neck with her wet head buried in my shoulder. She can't seem to tell me why she is so sad -- just that she wanted her mommy. Honestly, I don't know what to do -- I've already paid for lessons through early November, plus I've always told the kids they need to continue with lessons at least until they're deemed "water safe" (after completing level 4). Even the head of the swim program is at a loss -- this kind of behavior is common for kids just learning to blow bubbles and put their head underwater. Think I'm going to reinitate naps on swim lesson days to see if that helps -- the early mornings to get brother to school may be taking a toll. I'm hoping my little future Olympic swimmer can re-find the joy of swimming. Soon!