Hero of the Week...Miss Fran

My son has completely turned into a little fish. Of course he has not grown gills but he can manipulate his lips to look like a fish.  Anyway Carter loves the water!  Nothing excites him more that the thought of swim class on Monday nights.  For the past year we have had our sons take private swim lessons at the local New York Sports Club.  We decided on private over group lessons for the simple fact that they get way more time in the water. Think about it, in the half hour that these kids take their lessons, if they were in a group of four they would really get a limited amount of time actually swimming.  Sure the lessons were more expensive, but I feel it was money well spent.  

Carter has had the same teacher for the past year and he would never go in the water with anyone else.  It was so bad that the other night when he teacher was a no show he spent the entire half hour crying about how his teacher wasn't there, rather then jumping in the water with one of the other teachers.  Yes, my boy can be stubborn sometimes.  I guess he gets that from his mother.  Why he would do this can only be a testament to his teacher Miss Fran, this weeks "Hero of the Week."

Miss Fran actually taught my oldest son Tyler when he was a baby so we knew that she would be great with Carter.  She not only stresses the basics of swimming but more importantly the rules of the pool.  Every lesson started of with some basic rules so we know that it is now ingrained in my sons head that we never swim ANYWHERE without an adult around.  I see so many other teachers who don't stress this point enough.  Sure you could end up knowing how to swim but you never know when something could happen, so when you stress safety first, the rest of the time can be enjoyed doing what they love to do.

Seeing the progress of my son in the water has been absolutely amazing.  He went from being a lot like other three year olds who didn't want to put his face in the water, to a three foot version of Michael Phelps, minus the Olympic Gold Medals of course.  He went from being this timid little boy in the water to a kid that could swim laps.  In fact the other day he swam four laps of the pool, a solid 100 yards.  For you and me that would be like swimming a mile, totally not something I am capable of doing.

Miss Fran, I offer you my sincerest thanks for the work you have put in with Carter over the past year.  I know that he enjoyed it and I have enjoyed watching him blossom into the "swimmer" that he is today.  It's heroes like you that make my sons lives a little safer and a little better.

Thank You Miss Fran!

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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