a test in unnatural parental instinct, a.k.a. toddler swim class

So I took Patrick to swim class this past Saturday. He's been going off and on since he was about 15 months old. My dear son has never really enjoyed the "pool" experience. The first class he ever went to was a brutal hour of my baby screaming, crying and clinging to my neck. Fast forward to this past Saturday-he was way excited about it right up until he dipped his first toe in the water...it was mostly downhill from there. "No pool mommy, go back mommy, wanna get outta the pool mommy."

The whole experience is hillarious. It's a giant pool full of desperate grown ups trying to get their desperate children to love the water. Don't get me wrong, there are a few kids that just take to it and are jumping off the side in no time. The rest of us, well we just stand there in the water wondering where we went wrong. We loved swimming as a kid, how can our perfect baby be so averse?

Anyway, so then comes the "trying new things" part of swim class. This is a test in NOT following one's natural parental instincts. 1. "I'm going to let go of you, you kick as hard as you can and get back to the surface." Your child pleads for you not to, but you let go and watch them sink to the bottom and struggle back to the top for a little oxygen. 2. "Jump off the edge into the water sweetie." In this exercise they think you'll catch them, only to be surprised when you let them jump in and try to swim back up. The list could go on, but you get the drift. It's just damn unnatural to let your child struggle so much while pleading for your help and you intentionally do nothing but encourage. Yeesh, parenting is tough stuff!

Don't worry-I won't disturb any of the Hooligans' adoring fans by posting pics of these swim class days.