She began swim camp with the rest of the kids, no apparent anxieties or concerns.
On Day 2, upon finishing swim camp she explained that she got moved up 1 group. Her teacher went from a SHE to a HE. She expressed extreme displeasure about this.
The morning of day 3 she said: “Mom, my-tummy-hurts-I’m-too-sick-to-go-to-swim-camp.” Her mom thought: “Wow, she’s gotta get better at the whole pretending-to-be-sick thing.” She waxed anxious the entire drive to swim camp and her mother said she would mention her concerns to the main instructor, but that didn’t mean she would get to change teachers. She pouted, but went to swim camp.
Day 4 She went to the bathroom about 3 times in 15 minutes before swim camp, and the third time she started freaking out: “Don’t make me go!”, grabbing onto her mom, to the bathroom stalls (which have a little lock on them inscribed with HINY HIDERS) and crying at her reflection in the mirror. Her mom: “Sweetheart, we have been through this, you have made a commitment to camp, you must follow through, you can do this. I have been very nice up to this point but now I am starting to cross over into the mean-mommy place, and I need you to GO TO CAMP.”
When she was done she was all smiles because somehow she had finagled her own private girl-helper who basically only paid attention to her the entire half hour.
Day 5 was the day when parents come to watch. She now had a whole new set of anxiety about the moms and dads watching her. Her mom made up all sorts of stories: The moms there are ONLY watching their own kid, no one can recognize you behind your pink goggles, etc. She did amazing. She did every task in the pool that she had to do, assisted by her girl-helper (who can’t be more than 12 years old), and she was fantastic.
Week 2. She expressed some misgivings about going to her class, but her mom spied the tale end of it. She got out of the pool, the male teacher told her “Great Job!” and gave her 2 thumbs up. She walked on over to her mom with the biggest, brightest smile, all googly-eyes for her male instructor. After she was all dressed and ready to go, she wanted to go back in the pool area to say goodbye to him.
Her mother thought it was the strangest turn of emotions, but then again, her daughter is predictably unpredictable isn’t she? She also learned that moxie can only get you so far.
Our Snow Princess loves the snow. It has been so difficult getting anywhere these past several weeks because there is plowed snow banks on all the sidewalks and streets. Miss Snow Princess has to walk on all of them, slowing down are usual pace.
