Swim Lessons Require Dedication

You won't believe how I spent my Saturday morning. I spent it sitting in a wet chair for 2 hours and a dry chair for an additional two hours. Just what was I doing? I was signing my kids up for swimming lessons. Apparently, it is a huge deal over here. Thankfully, the commander's wife had given me a heads-up and I was prepared. I arrived at 6 AM, a full two hours before the doors opened, and I was #48 in line. Of course, in compliance with Murphy's Law, it was windy and raining. Undaunted, I set up my folding chair and my umbrella and waited. Granted, I had unwisely left my chair on our balcony the night before and it was already wet, but I was fairly well prepared. I was amazed at how uber-prepared some people were. There were tents set up in line, no exaggeration. I later learned that the #1 person in line had arrived at 2:30 AM!! That is hardcore. I used the two hour wait to network. Luckily, #49 in line was a very nice mom named Rebecca. She and I got along swimmingly (ha-ha). They arrived in January and she already had some great tips about island life. Before I knew it the doors opened and everyone proceeded in an orderly fashion. As you came in, you were handed a registration form and a call number. That is how I knew I was #48, in case you were wondering. After that we sat in a room until our number was called. I met more neat people, in particular, #35 who was Speech Therapist for one of the schools. When your number was called you went and met with a counselor...dead serious here... who interviewed you and decided where to place your children in lessons. While I was sitting there, I had flashbacks to college. Words like prerequisites and schedule availability were flying around all over the place. In the end, all was successful. The girls got concurrent lessons for sessions 1 and 2 here on Foster at their beautiful 50 Meter pool. It was worth it, the girls will have another summer activity (I also have them signed up for VBS) and I met some neat people. I get to do it all over again on July 19th for sessions 3&4. I don't think I will be bringing a tent or arriving too much earlier, but I have told Brian I would like a golf-sized umbrella for my birthday.