A Good Day

Today was a good day for Drew. He was able to overcome a fear and I am so proud of him. He had swim lessons this week and each day, they end the swim lesson by letting the kids go down the big twisty slide. Drew was very apprehensive to go down alone so he insisted on riding down with his teacher. (I can't say I blame him. It's 3 flights of stairs to the top and it is pretty intimidating to a little kid.) I told him that he needed to make a goal that by the end of the week, he would try to go down the slide all by himself. He agreed but each day still insisted on going down with his teacher. We threw in a little extra incentive in the form of a new Indiana Jones video game (I am not above bribery!) and he has worked himself up all week to go down the slide by himself. I would catch him talking to himself as he tried to psych himself up. He would say "OK, Drew. It's going to be ok. Just be brave and your teacher will catch you at the end. I know you can do it. And just like dad said, it won't be so bad. Just don't be afraid Drew- you can do it." It was really sweet to watch him prepare his mind. So on the last day of class, it was time for the slide. He held his teacher's hand all the way up the stairs and on the first run down, he just couldn't bring himself to go down alone so she rode with him. I went over to the side of the pool and gave him a little pep talk to encourage him to try again all by himself and up he went for the last time. Avery yelled up to him, "Good job Drew-friend! You can do it!" (She had been encouraging him all week while he stood at the top waiting his turn. Very sweet.) I have to admit, my heart was pounding. I knew how scared he was but I knew how badly he wanted to be brave. The next thing I knew, he was coming around the last corner of the slide All By Himself!!! I was so happy for him. As soon as he landed in the water he screamed "I DID IT!! MY DAD IS GOING TO BE SO PROUD OF ME! I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO CALL HIM AND TELL HIM HOW BRAVE I WAS!!" As cheesy as it sounds, my heart leapt and I almost cried! Avery jumped up and down and said, "He did it!!" I am so proud of him for overcoming his fear and for giving it a try even though he was scared.
When they asked him if he wanted to go down again, he said "Nope!" and took that life jacket off as fast as he could. Enough bravery for one day!