Edmund and the swim test, part 1

(Edmund is six years old.)

Last Thursday, when we went to the pool, they had their water slide open. It was the first time we've been this summer that the slide has actually been open, and John immediately got in line to ride the slide. I didn't know if they had a height or age requirement to go down the slide alone, but I wanted to find out, so after much insisting on my part, I convinced Edmund to WALK OVER THERE WITH ME and try to find out. He didn't want to go over there at all, even though he seemed keen to ask a lot of questions about whether he was allowed to ride it or not.

We didn't find out much on our first walk over there, mostly because Edmund was very anxious to get away from it. I think he felt he couldn't go on it yet and didn't want to hang around like some little wannabe. I don't know--sometimes his motives aren't clear to me. He was very interested in the waterslide, but he didn't want to be near it.

So he and Mina and I went over to the pool to swim while John went on the waterslide over and over again.

Every few minutes, Edmund would ask me about the waterslide and what the rules were for riding it. I told him that I didn't know, but that I would be willing to go ask one of the lifeguards so we could find out. No. No, he didn't want me to do that.

Edmund was also trying to swim. He kept telling me that he couldn't do it, asking me why he couldn't do it, and telling me that everything he tried wasn't working. I gave some encouragement: stop saying, "I can't" and try this, but he didn't want to hear what I had to say. He wanted to prove to me that he definitely didn't remember how to swim. He finally did show me that he could swim underwater for several strokes, and I was impressed. I hadn't seen him do that yet this year.

After a while, I noticed that there was a new lifeguard over by the waterslide, and that the kids were lined up over there in a different way. It looked to me (from what I could see from across the way) like they were having the kids line up along the side of the pool instead of by the slide. I surmised they might be doing this to have them jump in the pool for a swimming test, so I pointed it out to Edmund, saying, "look at the kids lining up down there. Let's go down and find out what they are doing. This could be your chance!"

No. Edmund wanted nothing to do with it. He steadfastly refused to even walk down to that part of the pool. Finally, when I explained to him that I wanted to know what was going on and I was definitely going to walk down there with Mina and that he HAD to come with me because I wasn't allowed to leave him on his own in the pool, he agreed to follow me down there. But he wasn't happy about it.

When I got there, I figured out that they weren't lining up for a swim test. They were just lining up in a different spot. I talked to John and some other kids in the line asking if they'd had to have a swimming test before riding the slide. All those that I spoke to (except John) had indeed passed a swimming test. The lifeguard heard our conversations, saw Edmund standing shyly off to the side, and asked if he needed a swim test. Yes, I said.

"Do you want me to call someone down here to give him a test?"

I looked at the lifeguard, waiting for my response, and then I looked at Edmund. I felt certain that even if he agreed to this in concept, when the actual lifeguard arrived, he would back out.

"Will you do the test if they come down here to do it?"

He nodded his quick yes and the lifeguard signaled with her whistle to the other guards. "We need a swim test down here!"


(Stay tuned for the shocking conclusion. I promise I won't make you wait very long.)