Today was the last day of swimming.
Bel's teacher said last week, "I love how relaxed she is in the water" as she watched Bel kick and wiggle and splash around. "She's fearless!"
We do several exercises in swim class, one of which is to practice kicking with a pool noodle under the kid's arms. The parent holds onto the noodle at the top, so that the child has their hands and arms free for swimming.
Today, as we were paddling across the pool, our teacher came over and said "let go of the noodle, mom." So I did. At first the she helped Bel by holding her hands and tugging her along, encouraging her to kick. And then she let go.
And there Bel was, swimming on her own, wearing the Little Mermaid swimsuit she picked out for herself at Target, an orange pool noodle tucked under her arms.
She was a little surprised to see me out of arm's reach (not very, but just a bit), then took off after a pool toy that she'd been coveting. We spent the rest of the class that way. She swam back and forth the width of the pool, chasing pool toys and giggling. Jon came down at the end and said "Wow!"
It was pretty amazing.
We have friends visiting this weekend, and I decided to try bunking all the older kids together in Otto's room. I got everyone tucked into clean sheets and cozy sleeping bags, then read them a story (The Night Pirates, by Peter Harris). I did my best to channel my inner youth services librarian to keep their interest, and when I was done Otto said "OK, now I'm going to read a book!"
He picked up Welcome to Chuggington and proceeded to read it aloud to everyone with great assurance. I coached him through sounding out electricity, but the rest he read on his own. He's never done that for me before. He even paused to explain to his listeners that one of the trains in the book is an elevated train, and since he's ridden the L in Chicago, he figures that must mean all the trains in the book are from there.
I was sort of blown away.
It's not so much that they're growing up. That I expect. But these big leaps forward in independence, suddenly being able to do something for themselves that they've needed help with for months and years... it's like being shifted to an alternate universe, or getting a new identity overnight. Who am I and what am I doing here again?
My mom visits next weekend and I can't wait for her to see them. Bel already invited her to go swimming. Otto can demonstrate his mad reading skills. I kind of feel like I need to brush up on something myself... sew a quilt or remodel the bathroom. Something impressive, to keep up with my quick-moving kids.
If I can get the house clean, though, I think that'll be impressive enough. Hah!
