He cried before he even touched the water…
He cried before he even touched the water…
It was a swimming trial and the official called out: “25 metres breaststroke.”
My son glanced at me, bursting into tears from the starter’s block.
He hadn’t learnt the stroke. And I hadn’t realised.
I gave my son a small nod saying, “You’ve got this.”
But deep down, we both knew he didn’t.
I’d stopped taking him to lessons months ago. Work got busy. I assumed he had learnt breaststroke. Why invite him to the trial if he hadn’t.
He wiped the tears from his face, took a breath and jumped in.
It was messy. He kicked and splashed his way to the other end.
I exhaled.
But it wasn’t over. Up came the butterfly. He only knew the kick. And I thought: @#%^ this is getting worse.
But he dove in anyway.
Then came the medley. And I braced myself. I thought the tears would come again and he had every right to cry.
But instead, he walked to the blocks. Quiet. Determined.
Stroke after stroke, he pushed through it.
He didn’t quit.
He kept swimming.
It wasn’t a swimming trial anymore.
These are my 3️⃣ tidbits that I took away from a parenting fail:
1️⃣ Parenting is learning alongside them
Sometime they’re in the water figuring out new strokes. Other times, we’re on the side, realising the lessons we’ve missed.
2️⃣ Courage doesn’t always look like confidence
Sometimes, it looks like tears… followed up a deep breath - and the decision to dive in anyway.
3️⃣ I missed the build-up, but I didn’t miss the breakthrough
I wasn’t there for all the lessons, but I was there to see him grit his teeth when it mattered. Remember this: if you have kids, you can’t always curate the environment.
I was proud of him.
Thought Provoking Quotes on this week’s topic
Maya Angelou
You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are.
Winston Churchill
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.