Swim Fly Relax ~ Backyard Swim Lessons ~

214.394.5307

Merry Christmas to all my swimmers and their families. May you enjoy a happy holiday season with family and friends....

Despite having locks on the doors, two-year-old Keion got outside and fell into his family's backyard pool. His recovery has been nothing short of miraculous, b...ut unfortunately, many children do not share that same outcome. So far this summer, 50 percent of drownings we've seen have been in backyard pools. Keion's family hopes sharing their story will help raise awareness and urge others to be vigilant about water safety. http://bit.ly/31O4WwZ

Are you ready for swim lessons? me too! As you know we should ALL be following "shelter in place" guidelines and social distancing when we must leave our homes. I miss my swimmers like CRAZY but I also work in healthcare. EVERY day I read stories/post and hear feedback from the medical teams I transport. The one CONSTANT request is STAY HOME.... While I can't visit your pool during "shelter in place", I am happy to offer swim tips via phone or you can ask a question here. For now, for YOUR HEALTH and MINE swim lessons are suspended. Stay home, flatten the curve, wash your hands, call me with swim questions or just to say HI. Sending big hugs and love to all of you <3 <3 <3

As promised, here are some videos on the foundational skills we work on during every beginner lesson. These skills are modified as needed for each swimmer. Yes, I work on most of these skills with infants, as well as, toddlers, youths and adults of all ages. This combination of skills works on comfort, confidence and safety... As you prepare for freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke and elementary back stroke.... Special thank you to my oldest son, River, for recording these videos. And big hugs to Cody, my youngest, very active, sensory seeking son, for playing the role of "swim student". Please call or message me with your questions.

It's snowing right now... but that hasn't stopped my early bird swimmers. I have scheduled over 80 summer swim lessons in the past two day.

My boys are home for President's Day, so I can't travel to your pool. However, our pool is heated to 90+F. The forecast is for temps in the high 70s and partly cloudy. It will be a nice day to swim. If you would like a lesson at our pool today, please give me a call 214.394.5307. We should be home most of the day. $50/thirty min lesson

After a full day of swim lessons, this is how I spend my evenings. "Mommy, mommy, mommy, it's a beautiful day. Let's swim!!" .... who could say no. I love ALL my swimmers, but he is one of my most favorites I am honored and blessed to have been able to teach both of my boys how to swim. #lovethewater #lovemyboys #starfishwarrior ... I taught him to swim as an infant/toddler...the survival stuff. It is so exciting to see him do freestyle (still not taking a breath...) We had fun making tons of videos. He said you can call him " Coach Cody" If you can't find a slot on my swim schedule, I am sure he would love to help you out!!

Looking for swim lessons in MARCH.... Here is my current availability. I travel to your local backyard pool or , if you would like to schedule your lesson at my pool, I will need 24 hr notice to heat the water to a comfortable temperature. Monday, March 2 1 - 3 pm OPEN... Thursday, March 5 9 - 3 pm OPEN Friday, March 6 9 - 3 pm OPEN Tuesday, March 10 9 - 3 pm OPEN Wednesday, March 11 9 - 3 pm OPEN Thursday, March 12 9 - 4 pm OPEN Friday, March 13 9 - 4 pm OPEN Monday, March 23 9 - 4 pm OPEN

Looking for swim lessons in MARCH.... Here is my current availability. I travel to your local backyard pool or , if you would like to schedule your lesson at my pool, I will need 24 hr notice to heat the water to a comfortable temperature. Monday, March 2 1 - 3 pm OPEN... Thursday, March 5 9 - 3 pm OPEN Friday, March 6 9 - 3 pm OPEN Tuesday, March 10 9 - 3 pm OPEN Wednesday, March 11 9 - 3 pm OPEN Thursday, March 12 9 - 4 pm OPEN Friday, March 13 9 - 4 pm OPEN Monday, March 23 9 - 4 pm OPEN

I am not surprised... but I am SO SAD Dallas has extended the "Shelter at home" orders until May 20, 2020. Unfortunately, this means backyard swim lessons are cancelled until May 20, 2020 or when the "shelter at home" order is lifted. Most of you have access to a pool in your backyard. Please encourage your kids to swim. Call me for tips. Please send me videos of them swimming. I am even open to "virtual" swim lessons if you would like to try that out.... There are no fees for calling with questions or virtual lessons. I just want to do whatever I can to help your kiddos enjoy and be safe in the water. Here is an outline of the 6 basics for beginners... 1. Bunny rabbits - this is simply bobbing in the water. What this looks like varies with personal comfort and skill level. 2. ABC's - floating on your back while singing the ABC song 3. Two noodle trick - lying in a prone position, one noodle on your waist and one in your hand. Keep your arms straight and kick your feet. 4. Monkey, Airplane, Soldier - while floating on your back move your hands to your air pits, then straight out then push down to the side of your legs. 5. Rocket ship - this is simply a prone glide. Face in the water and biceps touching the ears. 6. Crazy Falls - survival training. Fall/jump into the water, roll onto your back, float and yell for help I will get my boys to help me make some videos on the above skills. I will post the videos on this Facebook page. After I finish videos on 6 basic steps listed above, I will work on videos of all of the strokes. Again, please send me video of your swimmers progress and call me with questions. I miss you all!!! Big Hugs from me <3

https://aggie96.iheart.com//2019-06-28-granger-smith-rev/

My son drowned 3 days ago. His limp, gray, lifeless body was pulled from the pool and it was every mother's worst nightmare. He was dead. I heard screaming, and... after a minute realized the screaming was coming from me. I watched in slow motion as people rushed to him, as he was laid on the concrete, as CPR was started. A million thoughts were flying through my head as I stumbled around, not knowing what I was doing, screaming. I saw my dead baby on the ground. I thought about his twin brother and how could his life go on without his twin. I saw my 10-year-old son, hysterically sobbing, in his bright blue swim trunks, his beautiful tan skin glistening with pool water still. His life ruined because he just watched his brother die, drowned in the same pool where he was playing. I saw my sassy little 3-year-old daughter, in her pink unicorn and rainbow suit, just watching me, confused. And how was I going to tell my husband that I let our perfect 5-year-old son drown?? It was exactly like I've read other people say in emergency situations: I thought this must be a dream, one of those dreams that you wake up sweating from, short of breath, because it was so real. Wake up! Wake up! But no, I was already awake. Then the screaming was worse. This is happening. My funny, silly, sweet, handsome, artistic, thoughtful little blondie was dead. I finally was able to force myself to stop screaming, I ran over to where CPR continued on my precious baby. I have no idea how long it was. 10 seconds? 3 minutes? I don't know. But I ran to him and watched and cried and talked to him as my friend tirelessly and relentlessly continued CPR. He looked awful and perfect still at the same time. I watched as water and vomit poured out of his mouth, eyes swollen and rubbery looking. Then a miracle happened! I don't remember what it was first, but he showed some sign of life because several people at the same time exclaimed "there he is!" and encouraged me to keep talking to him. My friend kept working, I kept talking. He started to try to open his eyes and another round of exclamation occured. My friend said she could feel a pulse, they decided to move him off the concrete to the pool house. A million thoughts continued racing through my mind. I was sure even if he was saved, it was too late. I was sure machines were going to be doing his living for him. I was sure it had taken too long. Everything that happened next seemed like an eternity. The ambulance took forever to get there. They tried to get an IV on the scene but couldn't. The ride to the hospital was painfully long. But my baby started coming around! He jerked his arm back with the IV needle stick! He cried! He was coughing! Somehow, my baby was still with me! We have now been in ICU at Peyton Manning for the last 3 days. He is sitting beside me in bed right now playing with a stuffed puppy a friend brought to him and watching Captain Underpants for the 70th time. He's off all oxygen. He will very likely come home with me today. Home with me 3 days after drowning, home to live happily with his family instead of us burying him today. The reason I'm sharing? This happened in a pool full of people. A pool full of ADULTS. I've read so many stories about kids slipping away from their parents and getting into a pool, to be found drowned shortly later. I've never considered the possibility that my child could drown right in front of people who were watching him bob up and down from the bottom of the pool to just below the surface, but didn't think he was struggling because he looked like he was PLAYING. When I found him myself, 2 feet from adults who were in the pool, my first thought was that it wasn't him, that it was someone else's kid who was seeing how long they could hold their breath. I can 100% understand why the adults who were RIGHT THERE didn't recognize that he was drowning because when I saw him, I too thought he was just a kid who was playing. What tipped me off was the kid I saw was wearing a shirt: Adam had gotten in the pool in his shirt. He doesn't know how to hold his breath. GET HIM OUT!!!! THAT'S ADAM!!!! This was 100% preventable. The fault was MINE. He's a big 5-year-old. He has a very needy twin who makes it easy for me to forget that Adam is still 5 too and has needs that other 5-year-olds need. He's not self-sufficient even though sometimes I feel like he is because he's so capable. I didn't tell him to get in the pool without his Puddle-jumper on, but I was aware that he had. I simply told him to stay in the shallow end while I got his sister's swimsuit on, then I would be over. I thought it was fine for 5 minutes, as he could touch just fine in the shallow end, he wasn't alone because there were multiple adults IN the pool, and I'd be right next to the pool getting her suit on. Wrong. I have never ever been so wrong. He remembers what happened. He said he slipped off the edge. Based on where he was in the shallow end, and where we found him, he means the ledge from the shallow to the deep end. He said he kept going to the bottom then to the top and tried to yell "Mommy!" It kills me to hear that. It kills me to know that his last thoughts were that mommy didn't come for him. But God decided to give me another chance to do better. He gave my baby back to me. Now he knows I DID come for him. Who knows what we'll face from here? Physically, it is beyond comprehension that he is suffering no consequences. He is asking to go back to my friend's to swim and says "this time, I'll wait for Mommy" before getting in the pool. But he yells for me every single time I'm out of his sight. He clearly has some anxiety that he didn't have before. I pray that some counseling and lots of reassurance will fix that. I'm sharing this because I want to prevent this from happening to anyone else. Before going to any pool, first make sure your kids know not to get in until the adult who is responsible for them is ready to watch them. That sounds like common sense, but I was thinking because so many adults were present, he was fine, but those adults didn't know his swimming ability so they didn't question when he was under water. Second, KNOW THE SIGNS OF STRUGGLE! Adam didn't look like he was struggling! He wasn't splashing, thrashing, or screaming. He was simply underwater and couldn't get his head above water. Third, know CPR. I do know CPR. Could I have performed it in that moment? I like to believe I could have if I hadn't seen someone else taking charge. I like to think if I had been alone, my survival skills would have kicked in. Luckily, I don't know, because my amazing friend was busy saving him, but I do know that if I didn't know CPR, my helping him if we'd been alone wouldn't have even been a possiblity. I said I wasn't going to share what happened. I feel so responsible (I am responsible!) because I let him get in without any sort of safety device on, and he was in before I personally was ready to watch him. But I decided to share because I see parents at pools doing these same things every single day! And I'm sharing to hopefully spread drowning awareness. I'm also sharing to thank my friend for saving him, to thank her over and over and over. I am eternally grateful to her and will never ever be able to repay her. Ironically, I was there for her as her nurse when her son took his first breath after he was born, and now she was here for me as my son took his first breath after he died. Please take water safety seriously. I never thought this would be me. It was me, but thanks to God and my dear friend Kristin, my son is still safely here. Learn from my mistakes so it's not you. Adam Jeffrey Leeson, born 3/15/14 Adam Jeffrey Leeson, saved 7/20/19 I have no pictures of what he looked like when he drowned. Unfortunately I only have the image forever tattooed on my brain. I've shared a few images of him in the hospital and the most important one, the one with his guardian angel, Kristin Moon. Please please please share this. I'm a nervous wreck to share what happened, sick to my stomach to hit "share" actually. But I feel this happened to save others. In my heart of hearts, I know other parents need to read this.

I am not surprised... but I am SO SAD Dallas has extended the "Shelter at home" orders until May 20, 2020. Unfortunately, this means backyard swim lessons are cancelled until May 20, 2020 or when the "shelter at home" order is lifted. Most of you have access to a pool in your backyard. Please encourage your kids to swim. Call me for tips. Please send me videos of them swimming. I am even open to "virtual" swim lessons if you would like to try that out.... There are no fees for calling with questions or virtual lessons. I just want to do whatever I can to help your kiddos enjoy and be safe in the water. Here is an outline of the 6 basics for beginners... 1. Bunny rabbits - this is simply bobbing in the water. What this looks like varies with personal comfort and skill level. 2. ABC's - floating on your back while singing the ABC song 3. Two noodle trick - lying in a prone position, one noodle on your waist and one in your hand. Keep your arms straight and kick your feet. 4. Monkey, Airplane, Soldier - while floating on your back move your hands to your air pits, then straight out then push down to the side of your legs. 5. Rocket ship - this is simply a prone glide. Face in the water and biceps touching the ears. 6. Crazy Falls - survival training. Fall/jump into the water, roll onto your back, float and yell for help I will get my boys to help me make some videos on the above skills. I will post the videos on this Facebook page. After I finish videos on 6 basic steps listed above, I will work on videos of all of the strokes. Again, please send me video of your swimmers progress and call me with questions. I miss you all!!! Big Hugs from me <3

Wow! June and July flew by. Thank you for letting me spend some pool time with you and your swimmer. Remember, I teach year-round, when I am not flying. * My pool is available, if needed. (rates at your pool: $80/hr, rates at my pool $50/thirty minutes) FYI, I am taking off Labor Day week for a "me time". Any lessons previously scheduled during that week will be cancelled. Thanks for understanding the importance of self-care. I would LOVE your feedback for this swim season... availability, scheduling, rates, etc. Also, I appreciate any suggestions for lessons Aug - May. You are welcome to post your underwater videos, pics and any comments here.

Are you ready for swim lessons? me too! As you know we should ALL be following "shelter in place" guidelines and social distancing when we must leave our homes. I miss my swimmers like CRAZY but I also work in healthcare. EVERY day I read stories/post and hear feedback from the medical teams I transport. The one CONSTANT request is STAY HOME.... While I can't visit your pool during "shelter in place", I am happy to offer swim tips via phone or you can ask a question here. For now, for YOUR HEALTH and MINE swim lessons are suspended. Stay home, flatten the curve, wash your hands, call me with swim questions or just to say HI. Sending big hugs and love to all of you <3 <3 <3

My swimmers always amaze me and fill my heart with happiness <3 In this crazy ~ COVID19~ time... my swim schedule for June is 5 lessons shy of being 100% FULL!!! I wish there were more hours in the day/days in the week #IamBlessed #LovemySwimmers