Mama Bear goes swimming

Ever since Ahren came home we have had him in swimming lessons. We started out with a Mommy and Me class where I was in the water with him all the time. He cried a little bit the first day but after that he laughed and enjoyed himself. By the end of the last session, he was in the pool with his teacher and I could sit out and just watch. Over the holiday break he kept asking to go swimming, too. The place we go to is an indoor, heated swim instruction business that caters to kids and katie works there now as an instructor. 

On Monday we started the new session. Both boys moved up a level and now Levi has Katie as his instructor. He listened to her and did really well. Ahren, on the other hand, got a new instructor. Miss Mimi is in her 60's, has a deep gravelly voice, and is very strict/brusk/abrasive. I walked Ahren up to the entrance of the pool and introduced him to her, but before i could get another word out of my mouth, she reached down, grabbed him by the arm and headed for the pool. My happy boy suddenly disappeared and he sat down and dug his heels in and began to scream. I was trying to call to her but she turned and ordered me to the waiting area. She couldn't hear me by this time because Ahren was screaming so loudly. I went to the girl working the front desk, who had seen what was happening and tried to explain. She was trying to tell me not to worry that all kids that age will cry at first. I lost it. My face got bright red and I said, "You do not understand. We adopted him 4 months ago. He did not speak english. We are still working on attachment issues and what she just did was terribly damaging." She knew I was really upset. She went into the pool area and talked to the instructor. I sat where Ahren could see me and each time he looked at me I waved and smiled and tried to look happy. When he wasn't looking I sat fuming and trying not to cry. 

He cried for about 10 minutes, then got quiet and by the end of the 30 minutes was happily playing in the water. When class was over I was waiting. For her. And I let her have it. I told her she needed to take a minute to talk to the parents of the kids so she could get a little information. She kept trying to tell me that he was just acting like a normal toddler, but I set her straight. She may not have believed me, but she definitely got the message that I was NOT happy. On our way out the owner stopped me and we talked. He wasn't there when we started class and he felt bad because he knows Ahren's story and was very apologetic. Later Miss Mimi went to katie and apologized. We will see what next week is like, but if she scares him again, she is outta there. Mama Bear will be all over her!