Today is T’s final day of scheduled, weekly swim lessons.

Wahoo! T jumping off the diving board after one of his more recent swim lessons.

We’ve been going to swim lessons with Bob Hirschhorn at the Silverado Park Pool for almost a full year now, and T’s progress has been absolutely remarkable. Gone is the kid who was scared to go to swim lessons or venture around or inside of a pool by himself. Now we have a boy who craves being in the water so much so that it takes quite the persuading to get him to leave each week from the pool after his lessons!

T free-styling with Coach Bob at Silverado Pool in Long Beach. He’s still working on getting the breathing just right, but he’s very close!

T learns how to start off the wall for the backstroke. He can swim the length of this “Junior Olympic” pool in an average of just over one minute (and has beat a minute a couple of times!) on the backstroke when he’s focused.

This milestone is quite bittersweet. While we are going to miss our weekly routine of going to Coach Bob on Monday afternoons and T learning how to swim and be safe inside of the water, it’s fairly obvious that those days are now behind us. T has shown Coach Bob, C, and I that he’s more than capable of swimming solo. Wow. While it seems that it all happened so quickly, it really didn’t. I guess a year (plus all those other, earlier years of not as successful lessons preceded by the mommy-and-me sessions) goes by fast when you’re having fun, eh?

Now don’t misunderstand… should T ask to go back to swimming at some point (i.e., like on a team), of course he can, but onto learning new and different activities for the time being. I also do have a couple of “make-up” lessons in the bank, just in case T’s swim skills lapse this summer, though I don’t see that happening. Maybe we’ll just use those so we can go visit Coach Bob a couple of more times… I have a feeling T will miss him just a little bit.

T gives Coach Bob two thumbs up! We’re going to miss him and our weekly swim lessons, but it’s time to move on… for now anyway!

And with that, Happy Swim Lesson “Graduation” T! I’ve posted a few videos of T’s more recent progress at my You Tube channel. I’ll try to get another couple of videos up from today’s lesson soon, too, along with a few more photos.

Thanks Coach Bob! We’ll see you this summer not in the pool but on stage with Elm Street Band. Yes, T’s swim teacher is in a local band. I told you he was pretty great!

RMT’ers, in this season of last days and new beginnings, what stage are you wrapping up with your own kid(s) that deserves recognition, celebration, and/or applause? Oh, and if anyone is looking for the best swim teacher in the Long Beach (CA) area, please call Coach Bob ASAP… his lessons fill up fast, and for good reason!