Pool Time

This afternoon the boys and I went to the pool on main post to play. It's on outings such as this that the distinct difference betweens my two son's personalities truly stands out. Ayden is very outgoing and Alex is very reserved but is normally very active when he feels comfortable with an activity. Swimming is not a comfortable activity for Alex so the twp times that I have taken him to the pool now have been marked by a considerable amount of screaming and a death grip like nothing else on my arm and torso. Ayden on the other hand swimming for the first time with a life Jacket was determined to learn how to float in the thing even if it meant him swallowing the whole pool in water and possibly drowning. He was full of energy rolling and struggling to stay upright all the time with a huge smile on his face because he absolutely adores swimming. Alex on the other hand stayed firmly clenched to my side the entire time with a look of complete terror for at least the first 30 minutes and then in the last 30 minutes he started to warm up a bit and I caught a few smiles here and there. They have a small slide and two huge adult slides at this pool and Ayden went down the small slide about a hundred times and then started asking if he could go down the big slides. The child has no fear whatsoever and it amazes me of how daring he can when his brother is so timid and cautious. Now Ayden was a bit of a monster in the dressing room because he did not want to leave and let the entire gym know of his displeasure so one can say that I was really surprised when we got in the car and from the back seat I heard "Thank you for taking me to the pool mommy", it was so wonderful all I could do was smile. All in all today has been a really great day with my boys proving that if you let them children will teach you how to be a better and more confident person because that is exactly what my boys have taught me thus far.