Session #1 :) Laughing unconditionally.

This first session of swimming lessons definitely had its ups and downs. It started off with my first class that all had super similar names. Jayden Braxton and Brayden, talk about a tongue twister! Some of the highlights of the session were the following quotes, "I CAN'T DO IT! MY LUNGS ARE BROKEN!" "What do you mean your lungs are broken?" "I mean I forgot to put toothpaste on my toothbrush this morning and now my lungs are broken!"-Zander Level 3. Another good one "TEACHER TEACHER I HAVE 2 GOOD NEWSES! First we are going to Disneyland and second we are all adopted!!" haha Caleb Level P2. Today though we had some pretty good ones that included "My mom is pregnant. But its a really long and gross story!"- Zoey Level 3. "My belly button is my girlfriend!"- Austin P2 and "Oh man I made bubbles with my bum again!"-Braxton Level 1. All in all it has been a really good session. One of the best parts of it though was the chance I had to teach a 35 year old man named Fernando who has had a stroke and is now mentally and physically handicapped. He had such a sweet way about him you couldn't help but be happy. He couldn't do much but he used to swim competitively so he knows all the strokes. To help him my aide (Ian) and I would put a noodle under his belly and work with him on each stroke. The hard part was that he did not have the ability to move his left arm. This is different than anything I have ever done but definitely the most rewarding. I could actually see these lessons making a difference in this mans life and I felt like I was actually helping. He always had such a positive attitude even when he knows that he used to be able to do everything just like everyone else. There was one day in particular when he was really really happy and I asked him why he was laughing his answer is something I will never forget. He stopped and looked at me and in his slurred way of speaking said, "I laugh for joy because at times it feels like that is the only thing I can do. I can laugh unconditionally." It really put my life in perspective to see this man whose life had changed completely and now he has to rely completely on his mother but he still knows that all he has to do is laugh and things don't seem as bad anymore. He is someone that has made an impact on my life even though so far I have only gotten to work with him for 2 weeks. So that was a very serious post for this blog that sometimes seems not so serious but I felt like I needed to put it down some where that I can look back on on those days when it feels like I can not do anything else but laugh for joy.