YOU CAN DO IT!

 

My poor kids!  Trying to be the bestest, kindest mom in the world, I never let my kids get water in their eyes when I was washing their hair.  I never did believe that ad for “No Tears Shampoo”.  Yeah, right…if you get soap in your eyes its gonna sting.

So when it came time to learn how to dunk your head under water in swimming, my children were petrified.  You would think that I would figure this out with the first kid.  No, no…not I.  I managed to make this mistake three times in a row.  I am claiming sleepless amnesia for the above folly.  I claim the same amnesia for actually agreeing to have three children, but that is a subject for another day.

So, Tallulah is now five, a tall five, an athletic five, a freaked out by the water five.  I put her in private swim lessons with Tyler, a kind-hearted twenty five year old kid whose innocent ears were not ready for…

Tyler:        Tallulah, we are just going to take a great big breath and we’re both going to go and look for that sponge that just fell into the water

Tallulah:    HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NO!!!

Tyler:           C’mon Tallulah, you’ve got your goggles on.  I’m holding you.  Your mom is watching.  You’ll do a great job.  Its just for a moment.

Tallulah:      NO! NO! NO!  I AM NOT GOING UNDER.  I AM SCARED.  HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I AM AFRAID.

Tyler:           Do you think you are going to drown?  Because I am holding you.

Tallulah:    Duh, NO!

Tyler:            Then what is it?

Tallulah:     (Screaming close to the eardrum)  I AM AFRAID!  NOTHING ELSE!  I AM AFRAID AND I AM NOT GOING UNDER EVER EVER EVER!  CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?

Eventually, a couple a weeks later, after a big discussion of YOU CAN DO ANTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO, Tallulah dunked her head to the tune of I CAN DO IT!

She is now a superb swimmer.

Cut to a month later…I have decided to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and get in shape simultaneously by doing one of their Team in Training events.  Why I chose to attempt to raise $3, 300 in this time of economic crisis, is a mystery to me and mostly to my husband who is convinced that he will be footing the entire bill to this enterprise.

Thus, I am half-way through my fund-raising, my friends and family are being amazing, but I am still only at around $2000.  So I decide to do a Ms. Bits N’ Bobs Fundraiser in my magical garden – it’s California in Drought Season.  My garden is as brown as … dirt.  I am so afraid.  I send out an evite and immediately get 10 NO’s.  I am convinced that this is going to be an epic failure, not only does no-one want to see Ms. Bits N’ Bobs, but no-one has any extra money for my particular cause.

Then Tallulah says to me “Mum, YOU CAN DO IT!  If I can swim then you can do your Ms. Bits N’ Bobs Show”.

The kids helped me decorate the garden.  We papered the neighborhood.  We begged all the nannies to come.  I love the nannies around my ‘hood.  My friends showed up.  The kids got their friends to come.  They heckled me.  We laughed, I entertained, we danced, we sang, we blew bubbles and we raised over $600 .

So always listen to Tallulah when she yells YOU CAN DO IT!