Friday, June 8, 2007

Learning Experiences!

Last weekend, Karis went up to Chicago to take his manual therapy certification after finding out only 3 weeks prior that he would be allowed to go. So, those three weeks were crammed with cramming :). He flew up there last weekend to take the 3-part test. He won't find out his results for another 4-6 weeks but he feels like he may need to take the practical (hands-on) portion of the test again in the fall. Apparently he fell into the "mind goes blank" trap that most of us have experienced at one point or another! :) He was able to take a short drive over to Berrien Springs to stroll down memory lane with friends (Will & Heather Cochran, Kelly Slikkers and Alex Markovich)


This week has been a traumatic one for Zachary - he has been forced into the world of swimming lessons by his cruel parents. :) Beware, swimming lessons are not for the faint of heart - there is much crying!! :) So, every day for 10 minutes we experience a "controlled drowning experience" (description provided by our friend Lisa who is also forcing her 14 month old Luke to learn to survive as well! :)). Basically the lessons are for 3-5 weeks in which the child will learn to flip onto their back and float until help arrives. If they are walking already, they also learn to then flip back over and swim towards the side before switching to float again to breathe. Both boys are mad as hatters during the entire 10 minutes (good thing that it is short!), but we are seeing progress (Luke is really kicking towards the wall well and Zachary seems to be getting the hang of the float business). We have a long way to go, but it is giving me a peace of mind to know that we are pro-actively trying to ensure that he'll be as safe as possible in a state where almost every other house has a pool.



As a final note, my cousin Kathy came down for meetings this week, so we had a fun time catching up with her! We are very lucky that Orlando is such a popular spot for meetings etc as we've really been able to see many friends and family over the years as they come for conferences etc.

2 comments:

The Sénéchals said...

Wow! They sure start them young now...I don't remember teaching such little ones when I was a lifeguard! That's so good though...you can never learn to swim early enough. You give me hope that we may be able to go kayaking with Nicholas before too long!

Congrats to Karis for doing his tests...I have been putting mine off for 2 years. Only did the case study. Good luck!

P.S. I'm going to call you soon :)

Elaine and Murray said...

We see Zachary is already getting into the extended leg/toe position for synchronized swimming!!! Won't be long & he will be swimming like a fish.