Out in the World

Sometimes I wish I could just keep my little girls sheltered and safe in our little house, protected from all potentially dangerous or otherwise undesirable things out there.  I mean, do I really have to let them see odd people, walk near swimming pools, and observe annoying behaviors in others that I’d rather they not learn?  Helicopter anyone?  No?

Miss started real swimming lessons this summer.  I know I can’t always keep her perfectly safe, but at least I can make sure that she learns to swim so she can be safer around water.  Last summer we did one short session of a swimming class that I did with her.  She learned waaay more this time.

She didn’t like it at first.  She would cry at the start of her classes, and hated getting her face wet.   

Once she got warmed up in class, she was cool as long as she didn’t have to go under the water.  She got real nervous when she knew they were at the part of class where she had to jump in and go underwater.

But she did it.  Every time.

She did it on her own and she was so proud as she gained confidence and began to realize it really wasn’t a big deal.

I love how confident and strong she looks in the photo below.  She’s about to dive in and she isn’t afraid at all.

She’s learning to swim.

As much as I sometimes wish I could shelter her from everything, I know that I can’t and I shouldn’t.  It’s so special for her to have these experiences of competence and achievement.  She hasn’t graduated to the next class yet, but after six weeks of swimming lessons twice a week, she has improved so much and gained so much confidence.  She doesn’t cry when her class starts anymore.  She barely flinches when she has to go under water.  She’s getting it and I get to watch and smile and feel my momma heart swell (and ache just a tiny bit because she’s growing up).

And speaking of growing up, my big girl and I had a date yesterday to a movie.  It was her first experience in the movie theater.  At first she was bummed that her sisters couldn’t come with us, until I told her that the movie theater is just for big girls.  Then her face lit up and she said, “Like me!”

It was fun to watch her experience something so new and slightly overwhelming.  She held my hand tightly in the lobby where all the people were milling about getting popcorn.  She covered her eyes and cowered toward me when one of the trailers was slightly scary.  Mostly, I think she enjoyed feeling like a special big girl.  I got her popcorn and she shared it with me.  She was awed by the size of the “TV” and how loud it was.

I found myself loving the experience with her and also cringing at some of the content of the movie.  It was Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.  Not an offensive movie in any big way.  It wasn’t scary at all.  But I’m pretty picky when it comes to movies for my kids.  Most of the Disney movies are okay, but even those almost always have some pretty scary parts and sometimes less than desirable content.  I hate it every time I hear Grumpy tell Doc to “Awww, shut up!”  I also don’t love the way most of the princesses are portrayed as pretty helpless.  And I don’t love the drunk scene in Dumbo either. I could go on.  This Chipmunk movie wasn’t too bad, but it had a few parts that bothered me.  I didn’t like all the references to Theodore (and Eleanor of “The Chipettes”) as “The chubby one” and the oddly suggestive dance moves of the female chipmunks.  Perhaps (probably) I’m a big prude.  Maybe I’m overly sensitive.  I just wish there were kids movies that didn’t have objectionable content.

But when I get too uptight thinking about how I exposed my child to such movie content, I just try to remind myself that my girls will see a lot worse in the world around them as they grow.  And the fact is that I do monitor what they are exposed to right now, so when the occasional unpleasant content comes up, I can look at it as an opportunity to teach my girls about being appropriate, kind, strong, etc.  I have to think of it that way, because otherwise we would never get out and experience life in this big world.  I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to go to a movie with my girl because of fear that there might be something undesirable in the movie.  I do my best to make good selections for them now, knowing that I can’t protect them from everything.  I just have to do my best to protect them from the big things, prepare them for the unexpected, and teach them to make good choices in all the other stuff.

P.S. How do you like the new blog??  It’s still a bit of a work in progress, but it’s getting there!