So we've enrolled our 6.5 yr-old Monkey in a 2 week intensive swim program. The first day did NOT go well. When asked if he liked the teacher, Monkey replied "Yeah...I'll miss him, 'cause I'm NEVER going back." We did our best to simply listen to his complaints and acknowledge his feelings of frustration, nervousness, and anxiety. And we quietly planned to take him back the next day, regardless.
Day two started better than we expected. He still had a bit of trouble, but by the end of class, he was 'gliding' with his arms outstretched and his face underwater. And he even managed to pull a ring from the bottom of the pool (with his teachers judicious assistance)! He was so proud! He even decided to accept the token sucker offered to all the kids upon completion of each class (he had loudly refused any such treat the day before).
Today, the boy decided he's destined to follow in the wake of world champion swimmer Michael Phelps. He's got some snazzy new goggles, and he's swimming his fool head off. He went down the big slide, and swam freestyle all the way to the instructor. The Houston Swim Club is just awesome, folks. If you need to teach your kid to swim, I'd say to take them there for sure. We are soooooo proud of our little Monkey. Once he's finished with his two weeks of daily training, we're planning a trip to a Waterpark to celebrate...which means I might need to get in the sun a bit beforehand so that my pasty whiteness doesn't frighten the locals.
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Today wasn't the best day for my car. I knew something was up a day or so ago when the power steering went out. The power steering reservoir was full, so I called our trusty mechanic to schedule a checkup. Thursday morning was the soonest we could come in, so I kept driving. Then the A/C went out. And the battery light came on. And then today, right in the middle of Mason Road, the poor thing just died. Happily, it's just the serpentine belt (that's what you call it, right?) that's blown. Several years ago, I'd have found that problem a lot sooner, but when I popped the hood to check, I just plain missed the fact that the belt was looking pretty bad. It apparently disintegrated, the A/C and alternator stopped working, and the car sucked the battery dry. Result: a dead car that should be pretty easy to fix. Let's hope it won't cost an arm and a leg.
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Classes have been wonderful lately. Attendance is up, and we're covering a lot of fun stuff. I have some folks competing in an upcoming Kung Fu tournament, and some are even going to a local Grappling tournament. I know that it might seem odd to some that a traditional Kung Fu guy like me would enjoy the grappling arts, but I feel that they are a perfect compliment to the stand-up fighting arts in which I've trained. Plus, grappling is a ton of fun. I like the fact that you can train full power with respectful partners and not end up with black eyes, broken noses, and various other impact injuries. It's rough, but so extremely tactical at the same time that it appeals to my intellectual side even as I'm trying to strangle someone. It's often likened to an extremely physical chess game, and certainly agree with that comparison. So I practice my taiji, and also work to perfect my half-guard game. Diversity is good.
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It's getting late, so I'm off to bed. Have a fabulous day.
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