The other day I took Aurora to the local pool, different than the one where we have swimming lessons. We prepared as usual, putting on our bathing suits and stuffing things into a locker. I pointed out the similarities of the two locker rooms--they both had hand dryers, toilets (this locker room had no automatic flushers, yay!), and places to get dressed.
There was one huge difference. There was a sign on the wall that said, "You Must Take a Shower Before Entering the Pool." Oh boy. I pointed out the sign to Aurora, who was scared of showers and had never taken one. I had prepped her for showers back in the fall, when we were taking swimming lessons. I showed her how other people were taking showers, I had her stand outside the stall while I was taking a shower...she knew the drill, she had just never done it herself.
Back at the local pool, she knew the day had come. She's a rule follower, and she wanted to go swimming, so there was no way around it. She started to breathe heavy like she does when she's nervous, and I told her to just relax and not to even think about it until we had to do it. She immediately relaxed. Later, as I was getting ready, I asked her if she wanted to take the shower by herself or with me. She said with me. I told her we should think of some cheer we could do when it was finished. We agreed on holding hands and saying, "We did it! We did it!"
When the time came, I turned on the water, and we remarked on how the spray went outside of the shower onto the floor, which was pretty funny. I made sure the water was the right temperature, and then I took her hand. She came with me with no hesitation. That's what I love about Aurora. When she decides to conquer her fear, she just does it, boom! We got all wet, then did our cheer. She even stood still while I grabbed my phone to capture the moment. It was a huge milestone for her; I was so proud.
The pool water was so warm it felt like a bathtub. We swam and played around for an hour twice as long as a swimming lesson, and for most of that time we were the only ones. After awhile, a mom and her two kids joined us, and as we were getting out, a school friend of Aurora's arrived with her dad. We made a plan to meet at the pool next week. We discovered that there were two showers on the pool deck, one for grownups and one for kids, which was amazing. Aurora took the second shower of her life by herself and stayed in it for almost two minutes--I had to take her out!
We went back to the locker room to change. As I was changing back into my clothes, bathing suit bottom half on, top half off, I leaned over to get my shirt. Aurora was sitting on the bench in front of me, putting her socks on. She looked at me and said, "Boobs." I replied, "That's right!" and finished dressing.
Back in the lobby, Aurora lay down on a bench while I packed up the stroller. She practiced the New York accent I taught her a few weeks ago. I thought that she hadn't been paying attention, but there she was, saying, "Coffee...CAW-fee...Coffee...CAW-fee..." First a shower, and now this? My nanny heart just burst with pride for my little charge!
Not surprisingly, Aurora fell asleep on the way home, and I sat outside with her snoring in the stroller for about 15 minutes till she woke up. It was quite an exciting afternoon, and one that neither one of us will soon forget. What could be better than a shower, boobs, and coffee?
