Well C passed his survival level swim class. This is a huge deal to him. We spent 2.5 years, on and off, in level 1. This month he passed two and three. He’s finally got it. To pass this level the child has to go from one end of the pool to the other floating to breath then rolling over to kick . . . fully dressed. The point is that kids rarely are in swimsuits when they fall in the pool. They should know how heavy clothes are when wet. He crossed the length of the pool in sweats. For a kid who couldn’t float a month ago it is an amazing accomplishment.
Plus D is usually good at things. Come naturally to him or he just doesn’t do them. So all C sees is that his big brother is good at everything. He was just so very proud of himself. I almost cried; enough so that the 
swim teacher smiled and asked if I was going to. It’s not that one of our kids passed a class. It’s that HE passed. He has watched his brother jump from level 1 to level 7 while he stayed in level 1. That no matter what we say he seems to think his brother is almost superman, which is cool, but that he is not. He beamed. He jumped. He laughed. I teared up. Far beyond getting a little ribbon, it’s that this was difficult and challenging (it took him about 10 minutes to cross and he stuck with it – 10 minutes floating and swimming in wet sweats) and he stuck with it. It’s that he is so proud of himself and proved to himself that he could do it. He was brilliant.
