Dear World . . .

Here are my thoughts on this end-of-summer-Saturday-morning . . .

• I miss posting on my blog everyday. Yes, yes I do. I thought I would be relieved and thankful for the break, but really it just makes me feel like I am forgetting to do something. I'm not sure what the remedy to the situation is.
• I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the past. Maybe it's because of our whole family being together again for the past two weeks. Or maybe it's because I saw Mr. R.'s memorial video. Either way, many memories have resurfaced over the past couple of days.
• People ask me if I'm excited to go back to school, and I don't know how to reply. It's not that I'm not excited, but I wouldn't say I'm excited . . . Help?
• Everyone needs to listen to Come to Me by The Loft Sessions. We did it at The Experience last night. When I listen to it, I think of the words "violent love". Does that make sense? I know it's an oxymoron, but no other word describes the passion with which the song is sung.
• I feel like this year is a game-changer. And I'm not even sure what that means.
• The house is very quiet now. I enjoy the quiet, and I enjoy the full house. So which do I prefer? I have no sweet clue.
• Have you watched The Hunger Games yet? Because I did. And convinced Dad to watch as well. Still slightly obsessed with the movie. Once my DVD copy comes in the mail from Amazon I'll be watching it again. How many days until Catching Fire?
• So in the past few months of swimming lessons, I have {a} been kicked in the eye, {b} gotten serenaded by a 3 year old singing Big Green Tractor, {c} been bitten in the shoulder, {d} been asked where my bed is by a 3 year old {she thought I slept at the pool}, and {d} received four hand-drawn pictures. Verdict: A successful summer of teaching :)

No. 350 - Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming

Today is "Report Card Day". That term has been in my job life since . . . 2006, yep. Here is a little breakdown of the non-lifeguarding portion of my job.

Teaching swimming lessons is my favourite part of working in aquatics. I love working with the kids and seeing them progress. Granted, there are frustrating days {what job doesn't have those}, but for the most part, I go through each swimming lesson with a smile on my face.

At this pool, I run about 5- 8 classes every day for eight days {four each week}. Preschool levels and Levels 1-4 are 30 minutes long, and Levels 5-10 are 45 minutes long. Then at the end of each session, I make each kid a report card with a badge or a sticker and comments on what they did well on and what they could improve on. I really try to be as personal and relevant in my comments as possible.

My absolute favourite part though has got to be seeing the progression and seeing the kids recognize their progression. Nothing makes my heart swell as much as hearing a little one yell out, "I did it!" "Yes, yes you did." And that is the reason that I keep teaching swimming . . .

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No. 287 - Shout Out

At work, we have a whiteboard where the guards can write little notes to each other.

It's a way to notice someone else's hard work or effort.

I got my first shout out this week.

:)

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No. 278 - The One In Which . . .

. . . I clean the pool deck with style.

Be safe, everyone!

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