It was a bad week. It was SUCH a tough week. And I made it because of ONE person and that ONE magical hour every day.
The first day, last Monday, April 21, I was so nervous. I almost didn't go. I was coming off a wonderful weekend spent with ETA friends all over the country and ridiculously exhausted. And yet I had wanted this for so long, had worked so hard for it. I wasn't going to let ANYTHING stop it from happening.
So, I got into my city at 3pm, arrived home at 3:30 and was out the door by 4pm. I arrived early. I spoke with other people there. Then, ... I saw him. He was perfect. He was everything I had expected and more. He was tall. He was dark. He was muscular. He was my swim instructor.
Our lesson started off with a polite introduction between him, me, and the head gym coordinator. He instructed me to get into the pool and wait. I jumped in. It was cold. I was nervous. He led me to another lane and emptied it of all other swimmers. He showed me how to breathe. Then he told me to stick my head underwater and try. I squatted underwater and came face to face with his ... crotch. It was awkward. But I practiced and then I closed my eyes on the next try. He had me kick. He had me show him how I HAD been swimming. I cringed and began. He said, "I'd have to start with all the basics." I didn't mind.
He assured me and then he REassured me that I would not drown. Not only because I could stand at any point in the pool with my head above water, but also because he was a certified lifeguard. *Whew* I still felt like saying, "I'm gonna diiiiiiiiiie," in my usual fashion, and yet, I never did. Even when I felt like giving up and walking out, something in his manner let me know that I could do this, that I would succeed.
He was encouraging, he was critical, he was always supportive. Through his words and his actions. He held my hands and walked me down the length of pool when I was afraid I couldn't freestyle the whole length on my own.
***Anyways, I never got around to finishing this entry because I found out halfway through it that the reason I had started it no longer stood. So, the owner of the gym told all the swim instructors that they had to stop giving private lessons and he wasn't raising their base pay for swim classes. they all complained, and he fired them. So, I was going to lose my swim instructor. But THEN, on Monday there were no new instructors, no one would work for him because they had heard what happened to the former instructors and the pay was so little, so he apologized and asked them all back. And most importantly, he told them that they could continue teaching private lessons. So, I got my instructor back AND my parents said I could continue lessons for my last two months instead of taking swim classes. So, YAYY!!!
At least one happy ending in my week of blech!
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