Summer Camp and Swimming

Chloe started her summer day camp this week. She is going to the YMCA Adventure Camp. She was nervous to jump in on the first morning, but that apparently that faded quickly. Much quicker than what has been normal for her. I later learned that she was talking a mile a minute to one of the camp leaders on the morning bus ride. After the first day she told me she'd already made a friend! This week she is mostly excited that she got to go swimming at camp today, had swimming lessons tonight AND she gets to go to Birch Bay Waterslides on Thursday! She is so happy to be spending so much time swimming this summer. Her confidence in the water at lessons today have growing exponentially. First, she approached her instructor before class started and was chatting away with him. Then, she was beaming with pride at her successful attempts at splashing hard and fast enough to propel herself through the water. She called it swimming- and while I'm also beaming with pride, I'll reserve my actual claim at her swimming for a little more...technique. She was also successfully back floating for a second or two and just overall going for the gusto at her lesson! She attempted about 15 times to retrieve a toy from the bottom of the pool (one of their challenges) before her instructor called her off. She is going to be so proud when she finally does it. And so will I.
All this ambition and bravery did not come easy for her today, though.
Before her lesson started she was telling me about how she had only gotten a red swimming bracelet at camp... The one that signified the lowest swimming ability and required the most restrictions during swim time. She told me she was a bad swimmer and that was why she'd gotten it. I was trying to help her see that she could "learn" her way to the next level of colored bracelet. The blue one. I explained to her the levels of swim lessons and we read online what she'd have to do to make it to the next level- and potentially be a strong enough swimmer to get the next bracelet. She is at "Youth level 1". During our research, she learned that she would have to -at some point- open her eyes under water. She was immediately not willing to "ever" do that. She again said she was a bad swimmer and was holding onto defeated attitude fairly firmly.
I asked her if she wanted to know what I thought... "Okay". I told her that she wasn't a bad swimmer at all- she was right where she needed to be..."good enough to get better." All she had to do was keep trying hard, push through her little bits of worry, and believe in herself. I told her "I believe in you." She said "I know, Mom."
After moment of thought she said- "You just wait- you are going to see something amazing when it's time for my lesson to start." She'd perked up and had found an excited and brave attitude!!
I'm not sure if it was wanting the blue bracelet, or my pep talk, or maybe both- but it was a winning combination.
I don't think I can truly portray the level of pride I feel when our extraordinarily cautious and worried little Chloe puffs up with ambition and capable attitude. I was beaming at her the entire time.
After we got home she was telling me that she has 3 goals- she wants to pass level 1 at swimming, get the blue bracelet, and get the "poop badge" at camp. (That's the one the kids get when they are the best camper at following the rules). I told her those are very good and healthy goals. We had a talk about what "healthy goals" are, the way she looked at me, I'm sure she thought it had something to do with broccoli- but she caught on pretty quick giving examples of healthy and also some funny un-healthy goals. Like trying to be the worst kid at camp, or like trying to not drink water for a week. "Who would ever want to do that!!??" she laughed.
If things keep going this way at camp and swimming lessons this summer, she's going to be a much more confident and capable little Chloe. I absolutely adore witnessing her moments of growth, and I'm so glad I'm the sort of mom who notices them.