As a former swimmer, water polo player, swim coach and instructor, lifeguard, and lover of the water whether it be a pool, a river, a lake, a pond, or an ocean, water safety is something that I take very, very seriously.  During the course of my life, I’ve known several people to drown, one of whom was a (swim) teammate of mine at Trinity my freshman year.  It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and the water is something to always be respected.  While it is impossible to “drown-proof” a child, there are precautions we can take to protecting our kids around water.  This fall, Landri completed a water survival skills course.  While it definitely was not her favorite thing, she is now a pro at floating and screaming to alert a grown up, should she find herself in dangerously deep water.  Many naysayers argue that she is now going to be “damaged” or “hate the water” the rest of her life and I beg to differ.  Most days after her lesson, she pitched a fit because her turn was over and she wanted to keep swimming.  She just wanted to swim on HER terms (play around and not do her floats).  And other times I’ve taken her swimming, she’s still had a blast and definitely doesn’t show any signs of “hating the water.”  It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you are interested and live in our area, contact me and I can pass along more information – we had a GREAT teacher!  I plan on doing a refresher for her this spring, and also training Rex as well.  Here are a few pictures of Landri on graduation day, wearing full winter clothing: jeans, socks, high top sneakers, long sleeve shirt, vest, and regular diaper.  No joke, she probably weighed close to 45+ lb when she got out.  Also, a quick clip of Landri doing her float here.  In the video you just see her floating, but she also practiced different types of fall entries as well, and was able to rebound after going under and still find and maintain a productive float.  So proud of her!

I graduated! Thumbs up!