Swim Lessons

This week I have had the joy of taking my four year old to his first swim lessons. This experience has lead to some mixed emotions for me. It is such a treat to watch as he learns to respond to a new authority figure. My boy is a great listener, and follows instruction wonderfully. This fills me with pride, his mother and I must be doing something right to have such a well behaved child. Initially I left the first swim lesson feeling pretty darn good, however as I looked back at the pictures and video that I had taken I realized that something else was happening. Upon completion of each instruction issued by my son's teacher, he turns to her with hopeful eyes eagerly searching for approval. Up until this week I have only seen this look with me, his Mom, and his Grandparents. It has made me realize that my first born is growing up. Soon he will be going to real school, and be gone for most of the day. Worse yet, his little sister will do the same thing in just a few years. What will I do without them? How can I protect them from the world, when they are out in it?

I know that it may be a little premature for me to start worrying about what my life will be like when my kids start school, graduate, and eventually begin a life without their mother and I, but there is a valid lesson to be learned here. When it comes to raising my kids I can only do my best. Their life is their own, and many other people will influence them despite my approval or disapproval. My goal should not be to protect them and make good choices for them, but to teach them to make their own good choices, thus protecting themselves. I need to become a quite and loving voice in their head that helps them swim through the waters of life.